


Tales of Republic City: Part Two

by OurImpavidHeroine



Series: The Abdication of Hou-Ting LIV or: How Wu Learned to Stop Being Foolish and Love the Detective [10]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Multi, Non-Comic Compliant, One-Shot Collection, Polyamory, Post-Canon, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-17
Updated: 2018-05-30
Packaged: 2018-08-23 00:06:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 40
Words: 102,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8306261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OurImpavidHeroine/pseuds/OurImpavidHeroine
Summary: A collection of one-shot stories set in my post-series and post-canon Wuko universe.No rhyme or reason to them; sometimes they just come to me, sometimes people request them, sometimes they are scenes that don't make it through cuts. I'll just post them as I write them!These one-shots will be kept in chronological order. Part Two starts directly after A Song Of Spring And Autumn ends and continues forward in time.





	1. An Afternoon's Expenditure: Shopping At The Mall

**Author's Note:**

> (Some of these drabbles were already posted in my [Bits and Pieces; Dribs and Drabs](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4068133/chapters/9157390) collection and have been moved here for ease of reading.)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This takes place immediately after the end of [A Song of Spring and Autumn.](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4284207/chapters/9703725)
> 
> This is for all of the retail workers out there on Black Friday; musicboxbunny, especially.

"Are you _sure_ you don't carry this in yellow?" The woman waved a tunic at Kyra, nearly hitting her in the face with it.

"I'm very sure, madame. It only comes in green and blue." Kyra took a step back. The woman had clearly had fish for her lunch; her breath was overwhelming.

"Maybe you should check in the back." The woman stepped right back into Kyra's space.

"Madame, I can _assure_ you, we don't carry it in any other color but green and blue."

"I've seen it in yellow. I know I have."

"Not in our shop you haven't," Kyra said, putting on her best fake smile and thinking, not for the first time, that there had to be better work than this. She caught a sympathetic look from one of her fellow shop girls who was busy picking up discarded articles of clothing from the wrong shelves. It was the biggest sale of the season at the Little Ba Sing Se Mall, and of course two of the other shop girls had called in sick. _Sick my ass_ , Kyra thought, jerking her head back as the woman waved the tunic in her face again. She'd only been at work for two hours and she'd already been yelled at, threatened, and had a sticky hand print on the backside of her own tunic where a nasty little boy had shoved at her. She loathed sale days. _Loathed_ them. There was what promised to be a corker of a headache gathering at the base of her skull.

"I demand to speak to the owner!" The woman brandished the tunic like a weapon. "I know you have this tunic in yellow! I've seen it!"

"Ma! I want it in yellow," shrieked the girl standing next to her, stamping her foot. "I hate blue! I want yellow!"

"Well, it's not as if yellow would suit you anyhow," said a man from behind her. "And _do_ let off with that howling. At your age! The very _idea_!" Kyra turned to look at him. _Rich_ , was her immediate thought. _Too rich to be shopping here._ He looked like he belonged in the upper ring shops, at the very least, where all of the designer clothes were located.  Although the suit he was wearing was probably bespoke; it was in greens and yellows, what looked to be a summer-weight wool with silk accents. It was gorgeous. She didn't even want to guess how much his shoes had cost. A small fortune, she was sure.

"I beg your pardon!" the woman exclaimed frostily, drawing herself upwards in indignation. Her daughter gaped at him.

"Only if you do it on yer knees," muttered the boy standing next to the rich man. He was dressed in some sort of uniform and Kyra could barely hear him. His voice was soft and hoarse, as if he had a cold or something. Kyra hoped not; all she needed was to pick up more germs than what people were already bringing in.

"My dear madame," said the rich man with a little half smile on his face, "You may beg if you really wish to, but it would cause _such_ a scene. In any case, this lovely young lady here was already assisting me." He waved the woman and her daughter away with a little motion of his hands. "Whoosh whoosh!"  He turned to Kyra and unleashed a full smile, his mouth curving up and his very green eyes sparkling behind a pair of gold wire spectacles. "Now then! Excellent!" He peered at her name tag. "Ah! Miss Kyra then, is it? Lovely, just lovely. I am in need of some clothing for a twelve year old boy. I have it on the best authority that your shop caters to children, yes?" 

Kyra nodded, fairly speechless. The man beamed at her. "Just the news I was hoping for!" He reached over and tucked her hand into his arm, escorting her as if she was a well-born lady at some sort of gala event. Kyra found herself standing just a little taller without even meaning to. "I have a twelve year old boy staying with me for three weeks who only has enough clothes for a weekend on his person. I did manage to get his basic measurements. I was going to go to the upper ring, naturally, but my husband informs me that I am overdoing it as usual. Not to mention they really don't do off the rack up there. So here I am. Now." He stopped suddenly and looked at the boy with him. "Are you laughing at me?" He put on an offended face, but even Kyra could see it was for show; he ruined it by smiling again.

"Did you just pull a Nuo on that lady?" the uniformed boy said in that odd voice with a grin and waved his hands in an imitation of what the rich man had done. He stood very close to the rich man, nearly elbow to elbow. "Did you really just say whoosh whoosh to her?"  On second thought, Kyra thought, looking more closely at him, he was too old to be a boy. A woman dressed in male clothing? A very young-looking man? Kyra wasn't sure. 

"It always seems to work for Nuo," said the rich man, and he laughed. The uniformed boy just shook his head at back at him. 

"Reckon you need to look like you're gonna bite someone when you say it." 

"True. I don't have nearly the same vehemence in my tone." He turned his attention back to Kyra. "Now then! Forgive our ramblings. I have his measurements here." He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a piece of very expensive parchment paper and handed it to her.  The calligraphy was beautiful; she'd only seen the like in books, never from someone's own hand. She read it through and quickly calculated the boy's size.

"It's no problem, we have plenty in his size," she said.

"Oh, splendid!" The rich man radiated good humor. He looked around the shop. "Tell me, Miss Kyra, is it always so very busy in here? The din is really rather cacophonous."

"They're havin' a sale," said the uniformed boy. "Didn't you see all the signs when we were walkin' in?"

"I did not pay all that much attention," the rich man confessed. 

The owner of the shop approached them, with a slight frown on her face. "Kyra, we need you," she said, giving the rich man an assessing look.

"Ah! I am afraid I am taking up all of Miss Kyra's time. I assume you are her employer?"

The shop owner nodded, giving the rich man a bit of a skeptical look. 

"Ah good. Well. I do intend to keep Miss Kyra busy, but I promise you, I will be spending a great quantity of yuan today. I assume that means I may have her all to myself, then?"

"Uh..." said the shop owner, and the rich man gave her that sunny smile.

"Lovely! Excellent! We'll just carry on, then. Miss Kyra? If you would be so kind as to show me what you have in that size?" He had not let go of her arm during the entire conversation. Kyra would normally hate to have a customer touch her like that, but she found she didn't mind it when this one did it. She took him over and pointed out what they had available. The man picked out several things, holding them up and pursing his lips. "Oh, we can't possibly go with this shade of green, it would never suit."

"He don't care. He's twelve years old, it ain't like his Granny will keep 'em anyway once he goes home." The uniformed boy gave Kyra a look. "You got anythin' he can train in? He's a firebender, he'll be doin' some trainin', I'm sure."

"Oh of course, I had forgotten that. Good thing I brought you along!"  

Kyra led them over to where they kept the training uniforms.

The rich man kept picking things up and then putting them down; the uniformed boy just sighed and took things out of his hands and handed them politely to Kyra. "We'll take this one, Miss." Eventually they had settled on several knickerbockers, shirts, sweaters, pajamas, two pairs of shoes, socks and underwear and two training outfits. Not to mention two complete suits. 

"Well, it's not much, but I suppose it will do," the rich man said. "Oh. Do I have an account at this store?"

The uniformed boy shook his head. "No. Don't fret, he gave me yuan. I'll pay for it."

"Let me just wrap these up for you," said Kyra. She quickly pulled out some boxes and began to fold the clothes into them neatly. The rich man wandered a bit, looking at the clothes.

"Miss Kyra, does this establishment sell coats? And sturdy boots? Well, not now, of course, who would want them in the summer? But later, I mean, when the weather turns."

"Of course, sir."

He nodded idly, and then picked up a baby romper, smiling gently at it and smoothing it down. Kyra calculated the total on her abacus and gave it to the uniformed boy, who pulled out a wallet and paid her without even blinking. Even on sale the total amount was more than she had ever sold in one go.

"Okay, we're done. You ready to scoot?" The uniformed boy went to scoop up the boxes.

"Oh yes, just one moment. Miss Kyra? Do you think I could trouble you to fetch the shop owner?"

Kyra looked at him and her heart sank. She'd done her best; was he somehow unhappy with her? Just what she needed, another customer complaint. She waved the owner over and nodded towards the rich man. The owner looked at the number of boxes next to the uniformed boy and her mood instantly improved.

"May I help you, sir?"

The rich man smiled politely. "Yes, two things. For one, I would like to commend Miss Kyra here. Excellent service with a smile and I am very grateful indeed. For another, I would like to arrange a time to meet with you to discuss the purchase of winter clothing for children. Not today obviously," he gestured around the shop, "but at another time. Let me give you my card." He pulled a gold card case out of his breast pocket and took a card out of it and handed it to her. "You can get in touch with me through my secretarial firm, the number is there. I have a charity, you see, and I'd like to make sure the children get properly clothed this winter. We've been relying upon hand-me-downs but there never seem to be enough. I would be looking for approximately one hundred and fifty to two hundred children of varying sizes, warm things, you know, coats and hats and mittens and boots and such. Do you think your shop could accommodate?"

The shop owner nearly fell over herself when she saw his card, assuring him that the shop would be more than capable of handling his request. He smiled politely and thanked her; with a nod from him the uniformed boy picked up all of the boxes, balancing them a bit in order to see over the top of them.

"Too many boxes," he complained, but he didn't really look angry.

The rich man took Kyra's hand and bent over it in a very courtly manner. "Miss Kyra, it was a pleasure to meet you. Thank you so much for all of your time and attention." Kyra felt herself blushing just slightly. The uniformed boy demanded the rich man take one of the boxes; he did so and the two of them left the store. 

"Do you know who that was?" The shop owner was staring down at the card in her hand. "That was _Prince Wu_. You know, of the Earth Kingdom? Well, the former Earth Kingdom."

"You're kidding," said Kyra. She stared at the owner. "You're aren't kidding!" The owner handed the card over and sure enough, it had "His Royal Highness Prince Wu Hou-Ting" engraved on it with a phone number. "Wow," she said. 

"Wow is right," said the shop owner, and then another customer asked Kyra a question about hair ribbons and she was drawn back into the chaos of the sale.

She ended up working two shifts that day to make up for the shop girls who had called in sick. By the end of the day she was exhausted, her feet hurt, and she hadn't even managed to get any lunch, no less a cup of tea. They had just closed the door and were starting on getting the shop back into order when there was a knock at the door.

"Oh, now what?" said one of the other shop girls, and with a groan she went to go and see who it was. A few moments later she returned with an outrageously large vase full of flowers. Roses, peonies, lilies; a profusion of brightly colored blooms spilled out of it. It smelled even better than it looked. "It's for Kyra," she said with giggle, and handed Kyra the card.

 _Thank you again for all of your assistance, Miss Kyra_ it read in that beautiful calligraphy. It was signed _Wu Hou-Ting_ with a great flourish. Kyra stared at the flowers and started to laugh. "How on earth am I going to get that home on the tram?" she asked, and she put her nose to the vase and took a deep sniff.


	2. A Curative Predicament: I Shudder To Breathe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set about a week after the final chapter of [A Song Of Spring And Autumn](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4284207/chapters/9703725).
> 
> Sometimes breathing is the hardest thing to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bu's asthma attack is something I wrote for the last chapter of ASoSaA; however, it bogged down the narrative and didn't really fit, so I cut it.
> 
> I re-wrote it, setting it in Mako and Wu's home in Republic City, about a week after they have all returned from Opal and Bolin's wedding in Zaofu. Originally Ikki had Rohan's part; however, I find that Rohan was a far better character choice for this! Good thing I cut it and re-wrote it, then!

LoLo poked at the lobster souffle with his chopsticks. “It needs some spice.”

“No one’s listening to you so you can stop complaining,” said Lin, giving him a glare.

“I’m listening!” insisted Zhi. “But LoLo, don’t you think it’s nice? I love your cooking best but this tastes okay.”

“Never mind, darling,” said Wu to his son, and he shot LoLo a look. “LoLo is just feeling disgruntled because he doesn’t like sitting about all day. And speaking of, how is the knee doing, Kya?”

Kya smiled. “It’s doing. Too early to expect too much progress, of course. It’s only been two days.” She gave LoLo’s knee under the table a pointed look. “The immersion pool will help. Thank you for that.”

Wu waved a hand. “If he needs it then he’ll have it.”

“Foolish to buy it just for a month or two,” LoLo scowled. “You could be spending your yuan on something better.” That only got him a raised eyebrow from Wu for his trouble.

“Hey Papa, do you think we could take Sozui to the zoo tomorrow?” Naoki waggled her eyebrows up and down at Sozui, who froze in the middle of putting a chopstick into his mouth, staring at her.

“Oh, can we? Sozui, the zoo is really fun! The badgermoles love Papa, whenever he goes to visit they always crowd over, trying to get him to sing to them. And when he sings they dance!” Zhi bounced in his seat. Mako pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

“Oh, I suppose we can. But will we all fit in the car? If we take all of you children plus Qi and myself that makes nine.” Wu glanced over at Qi.

“We can if Meili and Bu and Zhi sit on some laps. Might be a squeeze but it ain’t far to go.” Qi shrugged. “Rohan can sit up on top, maybe.” Qi dropped Rohan a wink.

“I want to sit on the top!” Naoki’s eyes lit up.

“No,” said Mako.

“Aw, Daddy!”

“I like the zoo. Uncle Mako, can you pass the greens, please?” San asked. “Bu, you want some?”

Bu shook his head fretfully and shoved his uneaten souffle around his plate. “I don’t like this dinner. I want LoLo’s dinner.” Bu’s lower lip trembled. “I want Mommy and Daddy to come home.”

“There! You see! Bu, honey, maybe I could just whip up a quick batch of dumplings-”

“No,” interrupted Mako, calmly. “Norbu, if you don’t like that dinner you don’t have to eat it, but LoLo has to keep off that knee. No exceptions. He can’t cook for you or anybody else right now. Do you understand me?” Mako’s expression softened. “I know you miss your parents, buddy, but they’ll be home soon.”

Tears splashed down Bu’s cheeks. “I want Mommy.”

“My Bu all sad,” said Meili. “Not crying, Bu. My kiss you.” Meili slipped out of her chair and trooped around the table.

“Now darling, I know you miss your parents, but it won’t be much longer. Tomorrow we’ll go the zoo and that will be fun!” Bu just started to sob. Wu sighed and looked over at Mako. _Do something,_ he mouthed.

“Hey Bu, if you want, after dinner we can go over to the park and play. Okay?” Rohan smiled at him hopefully.

“Uh oh,” said Naoki. “Daddy, he’s doing it.” Bu’s breath started hitching in, wheezing.

“Oh damn it anyhow,” said Mako, standing up. “Where’s his medicine?”

“I’ll get it!” Naoki shot off of her chair and went pounding upstairs.

“Try to breathe, Bu, remember what Mommy says, try to breathe,” San put his arms around his brother.

Kya pursed her lips, staring at Bu. “Does he do this often?” She got out of her seat and went around the table, putting a gentle hand to Bu’s chest.

“He has a hard time breathing sometimes,” said Lin. “He can’t seem to get any air in. If the attacks are really bad he starts to get blue about the mouth, even.”

Kya gave Lin a sharp look. “Hasn’t he seen a healer?”

“Several. I even brought a specialist down from the Northern Water Tribe, in fact,” said Wu. “She gave us a recipe for a compound that helps somewhat.” He frowned at Norbu.

“Here it is,” said Naoki breathlessly, skidding back into the dining room. Kya held out her hand and Noaki gave the vial to her. Kya sniffed it and ran her hand over it; she put some on her finger, tasted it and frowned.

“Hand me some water, please?” Sozui reached over and took up a pitcher of water, carefully holding it out to her. “Thank you. Let’s lay him flat, now.” She took Bu away from San and lay him gently on the floor, sitting down next to him. She pulled water out of the pitcher and it started to glow between her fingers. She ran her fingers up and over his chest, frowning slightly. “Rohan, come here, please.”

Rohan got up from his seat and came over. “Yes?”

“I need you to help me with something,” Kya said. “Can you sense his breathing for me? Follow the air as it goes in and out of his lungs? Tell me what you sense.” Rohan looked a little unsure but Kya smiled at him. “Go ahead.”

Rohan sat down next to Bu’s head. Bu’s lips were starting to pinch and darken. The sound of his desperate sucking could clearly be heard. Meili dropped down next to Kya and her little eyes filled with tears as she laid her hand on Bu’s head. Rohan’s eyes were closed and his face took on a listening expression, his fingers hovering over Bu’s mouth. He was still and silent for a few moments.

Rohan’s eyes flew open. “Aunt Kya, he’s getting the air in just fine. It’s that it won’t come _out_. That’s what the problem is, I can feel it.”

Kya nodded. “Okay. Rohan, I am going to need your help. I am going to ease the constriction in his lungs, but I want you to help him breathe by pulling the air in and out of his lungs. Very, very gently. Can you do that for me?”

Rohan bit his lip and then nodded. “I can do that.” He took a deep breath himself and then looked down at Bu. “Bu, I’m going to pull the air out of your lungs. Don’t be scared, okay?” Bu continued to wheeze, his lips turning blue. Rohan looked at his aunt and nodded. The water in Kya’s hands started to glow a deeper aqua color. Rohan closed his eyes again and with the most delicate of movements, pulled his fingers away from Bu’s mouth. Bu’s mouth opened and his chest compressed. “Breathe in,” Rohan said, and Bu took a whooping breath. “That’s the way. Now we’re going to do it again.” Rohan took the breath from Bu’s lungs again, and Kya soothed the water across his chest. “Breathe in,” he said, and Bu obeyed. His lips started to lose that terrible blue color. “Okay, Bu. Now it’s your turn. You can feel what I’m doing, can’t you? Now I want you to bend the air out of your lungs yourself. Don’t be scared, I’m right here, I’ll help you. Ready? Now _bend_.”

Bu’s breath whistled out of his lungs in a great rush. Rohan smiled. “Good job! Let’s do it a little softer now, okay? You just breathed in yourself, so now how help the air out. Gentle, gentle.” The breath eased out. “Yes, just like that. Just like that. Again.” Rohan sat with him, fingers above his mouth, talking him through breathing.

Kya continued to run the water across Bu’s chest. Meili reached out a single finger and placed it in the glowing water, eyes huge. Kya smiled at her, but said nothing. Meili moved her hand along with Kya’s, crooning very very softly.

Bu struggled to sit up and Rohan supported him.

“Slow now,” said Kya with a smile. “You’ve worn your body out. Slow and easy. How are you feeling?”

“Better,” said Bu. “Lots better!” He threw his arms around Rohan, who laughed and hugged him very gently back.

“Did my eyes deceive me or did that child just bend?” LoLo asked, staring down at Bu, leaning forward in his chair. Lin put a hand to his chest to keep him there.

“He did,” said Rohan. “He was using his bending to force the air into his lungs but I think that was the wrong thing to be doing.” He looked to his aunt for confirmation. “The air was already going in just fine even when he wasn't trying to bend it, I could feel it. The problem was that he wasn’t able to get the breath out, that’s what was causing the wheezing.” Rohan smiled down at Bu. “Did you know you were doing that? Using your bending to force air into your lungs?”

“The other healer told Mommy that I needed help to get the air into me,” Bu said. “So I tried real hard to do it. Can I really airbend? Like Mommy?”

“Yep! You sure can. Why don’t you try giving the air in front of you a little push?” Rohan grinned at him. “Like this, watch.” He raised his hand and pushed a little gust into Bu’s face. Bu raised his own hand back and frowned, staring at Rohan before pushing his hand forward slightly. Rohan laughed in delight as the tiny gust hit him in the face.

“I did it! I did it! LoLo! Did you see! I did it!”

LoLo leaned so far forward he nearly toppled over. “I saw, sweetheart! You bet I saw.” He tried to get out of his chair but Lin shoved him back down with a grunt. With an exasperated sigh Mako picked Bu up off of the floor and put him into LoLo’s arms.

“Stay _still_ ,” Mako said, and gave him a glare, which LoLo ignored in favor of planting a big kiss on Bu’s cheek.

San was beaming at his little brother. “Wow, Bu. Wait until Mommy finds out! She’ll be really happy! Daddy, too!” Bu held out his arms and San tumbled into LoLo’s lap as well, hugging him.

“Hey you two, take it easy on LoLo, okay?” Lin tousled San’s hair.

“Will I get arrows one day?” Bu asked, his eyes going wide. Kya winked up at him.

“Pretty sure you will,” she said, laughing. “I have it on good authority that all the best airbenders have them.” She smiled at her nephew. “In fact, speaking of arrows, I am pretty sure your father and sister are going to want to hear _all_ about this.” Rohan went slightly pink with pleasure.

Sozui leaned towards Naoki, his curiosity getting the best of him. “Do the badgermoles really dance when your father sings to them?”

Naoki started to giggle. “They really do. And Papa is a _terrible_ singer.”

“Thank you for nothing, darling.” Wu shook a finger at his daughter, but he was smiling. “Legend has it that the badgermoles will always come at the call of a Hou-Ting. I don’t know how true that is, but they do seem to like me, that much I do know.”

“What do you think, honey, could you take just a few bites of this dinner for your old LoLo?” LoLo wheedled, smoothing Bu’s hair back. “Just a few little tiny bites.”

“It’s not so good as yours but I’ll try,” said Bu, looking at his plate doubtfully. San slid it over in front of him.

Kya was still sitting cross-legged on the floor, Meili next to her. “Maybe when I work on LoLo’s knee tomorrow you could come and watch, hmm?” She held out the still glowing orb of water in her hand to Meili. “Only if you want to, of course.” Meili reached out a longing finger before snatching it back and running to hide behind Lin’s legs. Lin looked at Kya and shrugged. Kya just smiled. “Yumi’s sister is a very gifted healer. One of the most gifted I’ve trained. I wish I knew why this little one was so reluctant. Well, I don’t want to push her, that will do more harm than good.” She started to move herself up from the floor and Sozui immediately leaped from his seat and offered her his arm. “Well, it’s nice to see your grandmother has taught you some manners,” she laughed.

“Oh yes she _has_ ,” said Sozui with some feeling as he helped her to her feet.

“All right, emergency over, let’s finish dinner,” said Mako. He nodded at Rohan. “If you kids go play in the park after dinner you’ll keep a close eye on him, won’t you?”

“Sure, Mako.”

Mako tapped the edge of San’s plate. “Come on and sit back down and finish your dinner, San. You too, Meili.”

“Well, I don’t suppose we’ll get that child out of your lap, will we?” Lin sniffed at LoLo.

“When I go back to the Island tonight I’ll talk to Tenzin and Jinora. We can start working with Bu before Opal gets back. Usually I know they’d start him on some basic beginning training exercises but I think it’s best he learns how to control his breathing first. He shouldn’t need this medicine any longer if he can treat himself.” She shook the bottle. “Not that I think this was doing him all that good.” Kya made a bit of a face. “Northern Water Tribe healing being what it is,” she said and placed the bottle firmly onto the table. “Why that healer wouldn’t consult with an airbender over a child with breathing issues I simply don’t know.” She looked over at Rohan. “You’ll assist me with Bu, won’t you?”

Rohan looked surprised. “But wouldn’t Jinora be better? I mean, she’s _Jinora_.”

“Jinora would be the first one to admit she doesn’t have much experience with either healing or humans. Her specialty is spirits. Don’t get me wrong, I want to consult with her about this, but you’re the one I think would best assist me. You’ve got a natural touch for it. It wasn’t unknown for airbenders to do a type of healing as well, you know. Back in the day. Your grandfather and I discussed it more than once.”

“I would really like to, Aunt Kya.” Rohan was solemn.

“Good. It’s settled then.” Kya took up her chopsticks with a smile.


	3. A Zoological Expedition: A Trip To See The Badgermoles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set directly after the family returns to Republic City from Bolin and Opal's wedding.
> 
> The promised trip to Republic City Zoo for Prince Sozui is taken. 
> 
> For the Anon on Tumblr that requested it!

"Okay, Zhi, I want you next to me and then San and Naoki can sit next to the window. Wu, you sit in the back with the little prince and Rohan and the three of you can take Bu and the baby." Qi nodded towards Wu. "Be a bit of a squeeze but we should make it there in one piece."

"I want to sit in the back!"

"It ain't up for debate, Butterfly. You park it in the front seat like I told you."

Naoki scowled furiously. Qi ignored her. "And there'll be no bendin' in my car, you follow me?" This last was directed towards Sozui, who was fiddling with the buttons on his brand new suit jacket.

"Isn't it Prince Wu's car?" Sozui asked, stopping his fiddling for a moment to stare at Qi.

"Darling, not in the slightest. This is Qi's car, and in Qi's car we all do as Qi says." Wu caught Rohan's eye. "Why don't I sit in the middle so you boys can see out the windows. I can hold Meili if you wouldn't mind holding Bu."

Rohan smiled down at Bu and put his hand down for him to hold. "Sure thing."

Qi directed them all until they were sitting according to Qi's specifications. "Okay. No bendin', all arms and legs stay in the car-"

"Does that mean hands and feet too?"

"This is why you're sittin' next to me, Zhi. And don't be kickin' the back of my seat when I'm drivin', okay Bu?"

"Okay, Qi!" That earned Bu a smile and a wink. 

"All right, let's roll." Qi got in and started the Satomobile up. The car pulled smoothly into the road and headed east.

"You have a zoo in the Imperial City, do you not, Sozui?" Wu shifted Meili slightly on his lap.

"Yes, a small one. Last year a komodo rhino got really angry and trampled one of the zookeepers!"

Naoki's head popped over the back of her seat. "Really?"

Sozui nodded enthusiastically. "It bit his arm off!" Naoki's eyes widened.

"It bit someone's arm off?" Bu's lower lip trembled. "Uncle Wu, will the komodo rhinos try to bite our arms off at our zoo?"

"My darling! Certainly not! I am certain Prince Sozui is simply having us on for a little joke. Isn't that right, Sozui?" Wu turned a glare Sozui's way.

"Um...yeah. Ha! Ha ha! Just a little joke!" Sozui furtively looked at Naoki and made a gnashing movement with his teeth. Naoki looked delighted.

"Komodo rhinos are very aggressive, especially the females. It says so in my encyclopedia," said Zhi. "It says that the females are especially angry when they have young to protect and also when they are in their breeding season, but I don't know what that means. What does that mean, Qi?"

"It means when the lady rhinos want to have baby rhinos," Qi said.

"Oh," said Zhi.

"Qi means when they want to have rhino sex," added Naoki, helpfully.

"I beg your _pardon_ , young lady!" said her father, eyebrows raised to the sky. 

"Ima at school says that when her owlcat wants to have sex she makes a terrible noise and tries to get out of the house."

"Naoki Hou-Ting! I _never_! I will thank you to cease and desist with this conversation _immediately_!"

"I'm just _saying_ ," muttered Naoki. Poor Rohan sat in the backseat staring out the window, his face red to the ears.

"Zip it," said Qi, in a tone that ensured instant silence. They drove on in silence for a few minutes.

"Uncle Wu?"

"Yes, San?"

"Are you going to sing to the badgermoles?"

"Well, I usually do, they get grumpy if I don't. Why do you ask?"

"Can I sing with you?"

Wu beamed. "Certainly you may, darling. I'm sure they would love it. If we ask nicely maybe they'll do a little earthbending for you."

Sozui frowned. "How can you ask them? They don't speak."

"Papa can communicate with them! They do what he asks." Zhi turned around to peer over the front seat. "You'll see!"

"It's something that is carried down through the Hou-Ting bloodline, or so legend has it. I can't say as to whether or not any of the rest my family could do it. There were no badgermoles in the Palace at Ba Sing Se."

Sozui nodded thoughtfully. "My great-grandfather had a dragon. Well. Not _had_  him. You don't really own dragons. They were friends."

"What did he do when your great-grandfather died?" Rohan looked curious.

Sozui shrugged. "He just left. Grandmama says he probably went back to where he was born, where the other dragons live. With the sun warriors." He sighed. "I wish he would have stayed. I would have liked to have been his friend."

Wu nodded. "Yes, Mako and I met Druk when we visited Firelord Zuko on Ember Island. Although Mako had met him some years before. He was a very polite dragon, or at least he was to me."

Qi pulled into the zoo's parking lot, setting the brake. "All right, now nobody's runnin' off. We're stickin' together. You hear me, Zhi?"

"Yes, Qi."

"That means you too," and that got a severe look sent Sozui's way. "That's all I need, explainin' to the Firelord I lost her grandson."

Sozui blinked and looked surprised. "Do I have to do what she says outside of the car?" he whispered to Naoki. 

"Yes you do, and Qi's not a she, Qi's a Qi." Naoki whispered back, scowling. "It's rude to call Qi a she."

Sozui looked taken aback. "I wasn't trying to be rude."

"Better _not_ ," said Naoki, with her fists on her hips. "Not to our Qi."

Qi swung Meili up on Qi's hip. "Okay, let's just go and see the badgermoles first. Then we can go through the rest of the zoo. They'll just fuss and make a big racket if you don't go see them first thing." This was directed to Wu.

"I heartily agree. Bu, my darling, would you hold my hand?"

"Okay, Uncle Wu!"

Through the zoo they trooped, past the building that hosted the artificial caves with the wolfbats, past the armadillo bears, up to the very large enclosure that housed the two badgermoles. They were already waiting for Wu, crowding each other in order to get closer to him.

"Prince Wu!" said the zookeeper with a smile. "They knew you were coming."

"Good day to you, Ji-Kyu. And my darlings! My darlings, hello! Look, I've brought the family to see you. Now Ling Ling, don't crowd into Yang Yang like that, you know it's not necessary. Let me introduce you to Prince Sozui of the Fire Nation. Say hello!"

Both badgermoles bowed politely Sozui's way. Sozui's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. 

"I believe you know Rohan, Tenzin's youngest? Ah, good."

Meili squirmed down from Qi's arms and stood next to her father. "Hello, hello," she chirruped, and the badgermoles bowed to her as well.

"I thought they were blind," said Sozui.

"They are, but they compensate for it with extremely good smelling and hearing," answered Zhi, stepping right up to the enclosure.  "Hi Ling Ling! Hi Yang Yang! It's me, Zhi!" Yang Yang's tongue licked Zhi up the side of his head, which got a giggle out of him. "We're here with our cousins San and Bu. And Qi is here, too."

Wu broke into a song, something nonsensical about Bolin and Opal's wedding, with San happily adding his own verses, much to Wu's obvious delight. The badgermoles started to sway in time to the music, turning gracefully from side to side, shuffling their enormous claws backwards and forwards. Meili laughed and clapped her hands in time while Bu danced right along with them.

Sozui was staring at Wu. "Your father's a terrible singer," he said to Naoki, and then let out a yelp as she punched him in the chest. "Ow! Ow! What was that for?"

"You're the rudest boy _ever_! Don't you call my Papa a terrible singer! We can say that, but not you! He's not _your_ Papa!" She stalked off to stand next to Rohan, tossing her long braids, tied with yellow bows, over her shoulders. 

"But..." Sozui looked crushed. He jumped a little when Qi put a hand to his shoulder.

"Her temper's like lightnin'. It hits fast and then disappears again. Don't take it too hard." Qi squeezed Sozui's shoulder and then let Qi's hand drop.

"I wasn't trying to be rude. No one ever says I'm rude at home." Sozui looked unhappy.

"Reckon that's because you're a prince and they feel like they can't. The Butterfly, she says what she thinks. Like her father, that way. Her other father. Best get used to it."

"I don't think she likes me." Sozui crossed his arms and pouted, kicking at the ground.

"She didn't like you, she wouldn't bother talkin' to you, you can take my word on that. Now go on, go and say sorry to her for sayin' her Papa can't sing. We all know he can't, but we don't say it, 'cause it hurts his feelins, even if he tries not to let it show." Qi looked down at the prince. "You might keep your eyes on him while you're here. He don't make a fuss of it, but he knows how a prince acts. He knows how to be kind while keepin' his authority. You could learn somethin' from him."

Sozui stood there for a few moments before walking up to Naoki. "I'm...I'm sorry for saying that about your father."

Naoki bestowed him with her best smile. "Okay. Come on, you want to pet them? They really like it if you scratch their snouts. The zoo doesn't let regular people do it, but the badgermoles get mad if they don't get to snuffle all over Papa. They really love him." She grabbed Sozui with one hand and Rohan with the other, tugging them along with her.

Wu turned to look at Qi as Zhi and San belted out a verse together, giggling and singing. He raised one eyebrow and tilted his head towards the enclosure, smiling. Qi returned the smile and walked over to stand next to him, adding Qi's soft voice to the chorus, while Wu tucked Qi's arm in his.


	4. A Metamorphic Obstruction: How Could They Know?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Qi asks Kya for some healing.
> 
> Set a week or two after the previous drabble; so about three weeks after the end of A Song Of Spring And Autumn.
> 
> This one comes with a trigger warning for childhood abuse. Please read at your discretion.

Kya sat at the big wooden table in Mako's kitchen while she jotted down her notes. She huffed a nearly silent breath of laughter to hear LoLo's grumbling and Lin's acerbic retorts in the other room; in some ways Lin was still the sharp-tongued teenager that Kya remembered so well. She'd mellowed, though. LoLo was better for her, better than Tenzin ever was, not that Kya was going to start a fire in that particular wolfbat's cave. Kya liked LoLo. Oh, he was cantankerous at the moment, but that was a good sign. It meant he'd work harder at getting well. 

"I'll only be a minute or two more, Qi."

"There ain't no hurry." Qi shifted a little from Qi's position near the door. "Don't mean to rush you none."

Kya nodded and smiled pleasantly before looking back down at her notebook. _Sit down before you fall down you stubborn damn old skunk bear_ , came Lin's faint voice from the other room. The silence that followed was only interrupted by the scritch of her pen. "So what is it you'd like to speak to me about?"

"Sorry?"

Kya looked up. "I've been doing this for a long time. I know when someone wants to talk to me, Qi. You've been trying to work up the courage to do it for two weeks now, back and forth to the ferry. Yumi has other plans this evening so I don't have anything scheduled at all for the rest of the day. Now would be a good time for me."

Qi looked around the kitchen. "Uh...I..."

"Of course, it isn't very private here. Is there somewhere else we could go?"

Qi stood there for a moment, staring at the floor. "Reckon you could come up to my room. Above the garage. If you don't mind, I mean." Qi risked a quick look. Kya stood up and gathered her things together.

"I don't mind in the slightest. Lead the way."

Qi opened the door for her and walked silently with her out the side door from the kitchen that led to the garage. 

"Toph had the garage built," she told Qi. "When Lin was still a girl. I'm not sure why; she never owned a car. She certainly couldn't drive. It sat empty all the years she lived here. The flat above, as well. Insofar as I know, you're the first person to live there."

Qi nodded. "Yeah, Lin told me that herself."

"Well, mysterious were the ways of Toph Beifong, believe me. My uncle was the only person who understood her at all, I think, and she managed to baffle him on a fairly regular basis." They ascended the steps to the door, and Qi let her in. Kya was surprised. She didn't know what she expected Qi's flat to look like, but this wasn't it. The sitting room was scrupulously clean; the wooden floor gleamed with fresh wax and the bookcase along one wall was full of books. There were several hangings, beautifully embroidered, on the walls. "These are exquisite," she said, going to look at one of them. The stitches were neat and even; tiny and precise. The one she was looking at had a butterfly embroidered on it, intertwined with a koi and a beetle. Kya smiled.

"Could I make you some tea, mebbe?" Qi was fidgeting nervously.

"That would be lovely, thank you." Kya wandered over to look at the other pieces as the sounds of tea making came from the small kitchen. "I didn't know Toph had plumbing put up here."

"No, that was Wu. Electricity, too."

The piece she was looking at had the royal insignia of the House of Hou-Ting combined with what looked like a stylized fire ferret. Kya stared for a moment before remembering Mako's past as a pro-bender.

She turned away and sat down on the sofa when Qi put the tea tray on the lacquered coffee table. It was a set; expensive porcelain, in a jade and pink floral pattern, traced through with gold, the delicate cups paper thin. Qi poured with very elegant hands, serving the tea in a ritual way before sitting down on the far end of the sofa. They drank their tea in silence. Kya noted that the tea was of good quality, excellently brewed. She also noted that there was a jug of water placed on the tray as well. Very thoughtful and meticulous, much as the embroidery on the walls and the arrangement of fresh flowers in what was clearly a vase handmade by a child. 

"So," Kya said, putting her cup down. "You want me to take a look at your throat?" Qi stared at her and Kya laughed. "Qi, I told you, I've been doing this for many years. There's not much that surprises me. If I may?" She gestured towards Qi's throat and waited. Qi slowly unbuttoned the high-necked round collar of Qi's uniform shirt and swallowed nervously. "You'll let me know immediately if there is any discomfort." There was sweat beading up on Qi's upper lip and Qi started to tremble.

"Sorry. Don't know what's wrong with me."

"These kinds of injuries are often traumatic. Addressing them tends to bring the trauma right back. I know it isn't pleasant for you, but you should know that this kind of reaction is completely normal. I need to put my hands here for a few moments. If you need me to stop you just say the word, all right?"

Qi nodded once, sharply; Kya brought up the water from the jug and let her fingers gently smooth themselves over Qi's throat. "Hmmm. You were still a child when this happened, yes? I'd guess perhaps around ten?"

"Nine."

Kya tsked softly. "Whomever struck you here struck you hard. There was a lot of force behind the blow. Hand or some sort of weapon?"

There was a slight pause. "Hands."

"So whomever it was throttled you?"

"Yeah." Something wet and warm dribbled over Kya's fingers.

"I'm so sorry, Qi, I can see this is a very painful memory for you. I believe I can ease some things for you. Not everything, unfortunately; the damage was so severe that the larynx didn't really grow after the injury happened. However, what I can do is repair the split that is still there. It should improve your voice somewhat, which I assume is what you are hoping for. It's not something I can do in one go; however, I can do it at the same time I am working on LoLo's knee. If that is what you would like, of course. You don't need to decide right at this moment, by the way. You can certainly take some time to think about it." She took her hands away and turned away to return the water to the jug, giving Qi a moment to find some composure.

"I am assuming you know the basics of my father's story? That my mother released him out of the iceberg he'd been enclosed in for one hundred years?" She looked back to see Qi nod. "Well. In the year that followed my parents had their share of adventures. My father hadn't mastered any bending but airbending at that point and he wasn't able to access the Avatar state at all." Kya tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Long story very short, my father met up with a guru at the Eastern Air Temple. Guru Pathik told my father that his seven chakras were blocked and that's what was keeping him out of the Avatar State. In order to get into it he had to work to unblock his chakras. He had to find a way to restore the flow of chi to his body." Kya smiled. "You need to restore your chi, Qi." She sat back for a moment before putting her fingers to her own throat. "Do you know what the throat chakra represents?"

"No."

"It's the sound chakra. It deals with truth and it is blocked by lies. Lies we tell others, yes, but even more importantly, the lies we tell ourselves." She leaned forward to put a gentle hand over Qi's hand. "What lies are you telling yourself, Qi? Because I can promise you, your throat chakra is closed tight. I can heal your larynx to the very best of my ability, but until you release the lies that are blocking your throat chakra the healing won't be complete." Kya sat back. "It's not just about the obvious lies, like whatever story you've told about how your throat was injured. Oh, those are part of it, of course. But it can only be opened completely when someone is being true to themselves, to their true self."

Qi was silent for a time. "What if the person don't know who their true self is any more?" 

"Well, in order to clear that throat chakra they'd need to find out who their true self is." She tilted her head and looked at Qi. "Not everyone agrees with me, by the way. In the Northern Water Tribe they heal strictly based on what the body needs. However, I don't think it is as simple as that. My mother was a great healer, the greatest healer of her age. She brought my father back from death when she was only fourteen years old. My father was a very spiritual person, and he believed that healing needed more than just the body's cooperation, that the spirit and the mind needed to be a part of any healing process. My mother also believed this, which is why she was the healer she was. I believe it as well. The physical damage to your throat could be healed by any waterhealer of competence, not just me. But your spirit? Your mind? This, Qi, will determine how well you'll heal. Do you understand what I am saying?"

Qi nodded slowly.

"I will do what I can to heal your throat regardless, of course. But if you wish to clear your throat chakra then you will have to take a large part of that healing on yourself. I can help you with this, if you wish."

"How?"

"Well, I'd start with some guided meditation, I think. Do you do any kind of meditation?"

"Some. Not much."

"Well, some is better than none!" She looked Qi in the eyes. "Do you want to tell me what happened to your throat? What really happened, I mean. I know you've not been truthful about it. The blocked chakra tells me this."

Qi sat silently for long minutes, staring down at the floor before speaking. “I always said I didn’t remember my mother. That’s true. I don’t remember her. But I knew who she was. She was a whore, worked in one of them houses over in the red light district by the docks. She died when I was about two. I don’t know why, just that she was sick and didn’t make it. Some of the other women there, they kept me, made sure I had a bit of a mattress to sleep on and clothes and food and such. I was better off than lots of kids.” Qi’s hands ran restlessly over Qi’s knees. “Never got no school, of course, but at least I ate pretty regular and I had shelter. The woman who run the place, soon as I was old enough, she gave me stuff to do, didn’t want nobody livin’ off of her for free. Can’t really blame her for that. One of the whores there, she was real good with a needle, she taught me how to sew, how to embroider fancy things. I used to do some of that work, around the house and when I was a little older, the madam, she gave me commissions to do from other people. Rich women, probably, embroiderin’ fancy things on their underwear, that kind of thing. It weren’t a good life or nothin’, but it was okay. But that madam, she took sick and died, and the woman who took her place, she didn’t want nothin’ to do with no nine year old kid. So she sold me off to a pimp that dealt in kids.”

“Oh, Qi,” Kya said, tears filling her eyes.

Qi pulled Qi's legs up until Qi's forehead rested against Qi’s knees. “It’s not that I didn’t know what went on. Course I knew. I knew more about sex than any little kid had a right to know. Anyhow, I knew enough to know I didn’t want no part of it, so when the first man paid and come for me, I stabbed him in the eye with one of my sewing needles. I was so scared, I didn't even think, I just wanted him to get away from me. He pulled a knife on me and we were strugglin' and next thing I knew the knife was in his throat. I still don't even know how I did it. And the pimp, he was so angry, he come in and seen it and started chokin' me. He would had killed me, I’m sure, but one of the ladies who had kept care of me from the old house, she had come lookin’ for me, and she walked in while he was chokin’ me and hit him upside the head with somethin', knocked him out cold. She told me to run. Told me to disappear, become someone else, to hide and keep clear, never let him find me again. So I ran. And I became somebody else.” Qi laughed bitterly. “Someone with a broken voice, someone always runnin’, someone always alone.” Qi looked up at Kya, weeping. “I don’t want to be that person no more. I want to be happy. I want to be part of a family. I don’t want to be sad and angry no more. I’m so tired of runnin’. Because I’m runnin’ every single day. And I think, if I up and left, I could be somebody new, somebody different, put it all behind me. Because that kid he pulled off the street? That kid he gave everythin'? That kid is who I’m stuck with now. I don’t want to be that Qi no more and I feel like I’m trapped in that Qi. I’m trapped and I don’t know how to get out.”

Kya instinctively pulled the water to her as she reached her arms out. "I am so sorry. So much pain." As Qi came into her arms she held one hand gently against Qi's throat, massaging the water in while her other arm went around Qi's shoulders. Qi wept on, a shattered hoarse sound. "That's the way. Let all of that poison out of you."

"Don't wanna," Qi wailed like a child, and Kya let Qi weep. Sometimes that was the way of it. In her experience there was no way around the pain except to go through it to get to the other side. She thought of Iluak, of her smile, of the night under the stars where she'd given Kya the betrothal necklace, of the illness that ate away at her until there was nothing left of her but a scrap when she died. The illness that she, with all of her experience, couldn't heal. That even her mother couldn't heal and spirits knew her mother had tried. All the years she spent running from that pain, traveling the world, refusing to set down roots, get involved with anyone else, shutting herself off from anything else that might possibly hurt her as badly as Iluak's passing had. She knew that pain, that loss, that instinctual desire to run away, to become someone else just to be free of it. None of it worked. She'd had to make her peace with that pain and she knew Qi had to as well. Oh, but Qi had reminded her of Iluak the first time she'd laid eyes on Qi, even though of course Iluak had always known she was a woman, no matter what anyone else had tried to say or do to convince her otherwise.

Finally Qi's sobs tapered off, although Qi's breath was still hitching in and out. Qi had soaked through Kya's dress, but it wasn't the first time it'd happened. It was all part of being a healer. Well. At least the kind of healer her parents had raised her to be. She sent a brief thanks towards the both of them before pulling the water back away from Qi's throat. Qi sat back and searched pockets for a handkerchief but came up empty.

"Wu's always got one, guess I should carry 'em too." Qi sniffled and swiped an arm across Qi's face. "Sorry 'bout all of that."

Kya shook her head. "Don't apologize. That's part of the healing process and I'm a healer. It's to be expected."

Qi got up abruptly and removed the tea tray, taking it back into the kitchen area. Kya held her peace, waiting patiently as she heard water running. When Qi came back it was with a buttoned up shirt, combed back hair and Qi's face washed. "I best get you to that ferry," Qi said. Kya nodded and got up from the sofa.

As Qi opened the door for Kya, Qi swallowed and looked down at the floor. "I'd like to try. What you suggested. The healing I mean. All of it. If we can?" The hazel came up to meet hers, eyes full of so much hope that Kya's heart broke, just a little.

"Of course we can. Tomorrow, after I am finished with LoLo? We can work here if you like, since it's private."

Qi nodded that sharp jerk again and motioned Kya ahead. Kya's hand went to the betrothal necklace and she smiled. _For you, Iluak_ , she thought. _I'll help this little one for you, my love._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was proofreading this when a friend let me know that David Bowie had died. Bowie's music had a tremendous impact on me for most of my life. Bowie sang for all of us who never fit into the perfect little squares that we were expected to mold right into. I really feel this one, I tell you.
> 
> [Rebel Rebel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U16Xg_rQZkA) was a song for Qi, for sure.


	5. A Midnight Assignation: Qi Moves Into The Main House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Qi decides to move from Qi's rooms above the garage into the main house.
> 
> This one is for both Jac and Qi's Endgame Anon.

Qi lay awake for a time in the new bed. 

Mind, Qi hadn't asked for a new bed. Qi hadn't asked for any of this. Not that it mattered. When Qi had first approached Wu and Mako about leaving the flat above the garage and moving into the house itself it had been with the idea that Qi's current furniture could just be moved over into one of the numerous spare rooms on the third floor. Wu wasn't having any of _that_ , however. He had immediately thrown himself into a fervor of remodeling and interior decorating; Qi was helplessly swept along in the joyful current of Wu's enthusiasm. "We can convert your old rooms into guest rooms," Wu had announced the day after Qi had nervously made the request, dragging Qi along to look at wallpaper samples. 

"I had to look at wallpaper today," Qi said to Mako later that night, and Mako had grimaced and silently poured Qi a finger of whiskey.

A month of noisy renovations across the landing from Wu's study and the library on the third floor turned the household topsy-turvy, not to mention frequently drove Qi and Mako into the park across the street for some peace and quiet and the occasional secretive cigarette. "You should have seen him when he first bought the place," said Mako, looking resigned. "Just let him have his way. It makes life easier."

Wu did have beautiful taste, of course. Outside of the bedrooms the house was done in creams and pale green; the exception was the kitchen, which was done in bright yellow, warm and inviting. All of the furniture was dark wood; a mix of stark modern lines and traditional ornate Earth Kingdom styling that managed to be effortlessly stylish. Comfortable, though. You could tell a family lived there, what with Meili's dolls convalescing in the sunroom and books scattered on nearly every surface. Qi had expected nothing different from the rooms Qi was being allotted. There were three rooms in what Wu laughingly called Qi's Suite; a bedroom, a bathroom and what Wu referred to as the sitting room, which was, insofar as Qi understood it, where Qi was supposed to entertain guests. Qi had tried to protest that it wasn't necessary and that a small bedroom would be fine; after Wu had haughtily answered that he wasn't going to have anyone living in servant's quarters, not in _his_ house, and stomped off in one of his snits Lin had shook her head at Qi and said, "What were you thinking?"

Qi kept Qi's mouth shut after that and stayed away from the third floor, leaving Wu to it.

Qi was, therefore, utterly undone when Wu finally opened the door and escorted Qi into Qi's own rooms.  They were, quite simply, astoundingly beautiful.

The rooms themselves had been done in cream and tones of pale peach and apricot along with buttery yellow and spring green. Plush ankle-deep rugs were scattered across the floors and Qi couldn't stop marveling at the softness of them. The furniture - including a new and much larger bed than the single bed Qi had always slept in - was all curves, swooping and gliding, built from a honey-colored wood that had been polished until it gleamed. The rooms were simultaneously opulent and spaciously delicate, full of air and light. Wu had taken all of Qi's embroidered tapestries from the rooms above the garage and had re-hung them around the suite. Qi's precious tea set - the one bought with the entirety of Qi's first paycheck, the peony pattern that Qi had longed for for years before being able to even dream of buying it - was displayed on top of a table along with a vase of brightly colored flowers.

Qi _loved_ it.  

"I remembered how much you admired Chun's sitting room in Gaoling," Wu said, smiling, handing Qi a discreet handkerchief as Qi's eyes had filled up at the sight of it all. "You talked about it on the train the entire way back to Zaofu."

Mako had told the children very sternly that they were to leave Qi be unless they were invited; it was the same rule as with LoLo's rooms and Qi knew the kids would respect it. The whole family had made a trip up after dinner to take a tour of the new rooms, however. Even LoLo had managed the stairs all the way up to the third floor, climbing with more flexibility than Qi had ever seen him exhibit. His two months of healing with Kya had done him a world of good. The children had oohed and aahed (and Naoki had jumped on the bed once before Mako had hauled her down in disgrace) and even Lin had given her approval. After they had all left Qi wandered through the rooms, fingers whispering across the swirls of the chairs in the sitting room and along the elegant contours of the enormous claw-footed tub in the bathroom. It was perfect. Perfect and gorgeous and more than Qi could have ever hoped for.

Zhi had given Qi a butterfly, its wings iridescent splashes of gold and orange and blue, framed in gold. "I didn't kill it," he anxiously assured Qi. "It had already died when I found it. Lin helped me make the frame. It's a housewarming present. Papa says it's the proper thing to do." Qi knew it was one of Zhi's most beloved specimens and was incredibly touched that the boy had given it up. Qi immediately hung it above the tea set in a place of honor. 

It was too much. Too much. Qi had spent the past hour or so in bed, sniffling into Wu's sodden handkerchief, both deliriously happy and more than a little overwhelmed. Qi finally gave it up and swung out of bed to go and rummage up a book from the library. Qi belted on Qi's turquoise dressing gown and padded out quietly.

The light was shining from Wu's study, the door open just a crack. Qi moved soundlessly to peer inside. Wu was sitting at his desk, wrapped up in his own dressing gown, frowning down at some paperwork, pen in his hand.

"Can't sleep?" Qi said, and Wu gasped and jumped. "Sorry! Didn't mean to scare you none...no. I didn't mean to frighten you." 

"My gracious," said Wu, hand to his heart. "You did frighten me a little. Oh, I didn't wake you, did I? I tried to be quiet."

"No, I was still awake, you didn't make no... _any_ noise." Wu motioned and Qi came into the room, shutting the door very gently so as not to wake anyone on the floor below. "So, no getting to sleep tonight?" Qi knew that Wu sometimes suffered from insomnia. Mako worried about it. Well, Mako worried about most things, but Lin and LoLo worried about Wu's insomnia as well. As did Qi.

Wu waved it off. "Oh, you know how it is. I usually come up here so I won't disturb Mako, he's the one who has to work in the morning."

Qi merely grunted at that. Wu worked as well, even if it was at home. "You working on something? Or just trying to pass the time?" Qi made an effort to add the g's at the end of the words. Kya's healing had done real miracles with Qi's voice; it was still soft and always would be, but most of the hoarseness and grittiness had been eased away. Qi had been trying to modulate the accent Qi spoke with. Qi wasn't stupid; so long as what was coming out of Qi's mouth sounded like Qi had been born and raised in the red light district Qi would be forever marked with it, no matter how intelligent or accomplished Qi was. Qi had a good ear and was a natural mimic; improving Qi's accent wasn't as difficult as Qi thought it was going to be. No one in the family but Zhi had mentioned it; when Zhi said something Lin had taken him aside and admonished him gently and reminded him of his manners. Qi's goal was to sound like Mako; solid middle class Republic City, respectable and competent. 

What was emerging, however, was more influenced by Wu's crystal-clear royal enunciation than Qi realized.

"Ah, just scribbling down some notes about that fundraiser I'm hosting." Wu smiled. Qi knew better than that. Wu never just scribbled anything. Wu's parties were always meticulously planned. "I'm working on the seating chart."

"So what's important about a seating chart?" Qi came closer, peering down at the sketched out diagram of a long table with names written - and scratched out - on it. At Wu's look, Qi clarified. "I'm really asking. I'd like to know."

Wu blinked. "Ah. Well. It's not as easy as just sitting people down." He tapped at one of the names with a long, graceful finger. "Take Zheng Han, for example. He's rather a boor, I am deeply sorry to say. He generally manages to offend most people without even trying." Wu sighed. "But he's generous with his funds and his brother-in-law is the main editor of the Republic City Times, so I need to invite him." Wu's finger moved to the name next to Zheng Han. "I can sit him next to my friend Risa, however. Risa is lovely and a good conversationalist and she'll know exactly why I sat her next to him. She will most likely be offended by him - we're _all_ offended by him - but she'll never let it show. I can't sit her wife anywhere near him, however, because Hong's father and Zheng Han loathe each other, both publicly and privately. Instead I'll sit Hong over here next to Naruhiko. They both love pro-bending, the conversation should flow smoothly."

Qi frowned. "You don't want to sit Hong next to him."

Wu looked at Qi with surprise. "Why on earth not?"

"Her brother asked Naruhiko's niece to marry him and she turned him down flat. They ain't...they _haven't_ spoken about it publicly, but their driver says there's a lot of bad feeling there."

Wu's eyes widened. "Oh! Well, now there's a piece of gossip I had not heard! They really have kept that hush-hush, haven't they! Well thank you, Qi! You saved me some embarrassment." Wu tapped the pen against his lip, something he always did when he was thinking. "Well, where should I put Hong, then?" He sent Qi a look. "Do you have any ideas?"

Qi was quiet for a moment, thinking, before pointing. "What about switching Hong and the University Chancellor? She likes pro-bending, don't... _doesn't_...she?"

Wu beamed. "She does indeed and she'll even talk about it, which is saying something, believe me. Hong can sit next to Kimiko. I don't know that the conversation will be _scintillating_ , but at least it won't be acrimonious." Wu scratched out names and re-wrote in the new ones. "So the new rooms are to your liking?" The tone was casual, but Qi knew Wu well enough to know that the question wasn't. Wu kept his eyes on the seating chart.

"They're beautiful. More than I ever dreamed. More than I deserve, I reckon."

Wu reached over to squeeze Qi's hand. "You deserve the moon and stars, Qi." They were silent for a moment before Wu took his hand back and picked up his pen again. "Speaking of Kimiko, she is allergic to roses, so I can't use them for decoration. It's a pity, really, my color scheme for this is red and gold and red roses are always appropriate for this sort of gathering. I've got to come up with something else to dress up the table." 

Qi pulled one of the guest chairs behind the desk to sit next to Wu. "You going... _are you_ going to have candles?"

"Certainly. White tapers, I thought."

"Hmm. What if you did gold candles - shorter and fatter ones? And then used red and white camellias." Qi motioned with Qi's hands. "Use some of the camellias' green leaves to dress it up, make shorter and wider flower settings instead of tall ones with the roses and tapers?" Qi held out a hand for Wu's pen; when Wu handed it over Qi quickly made a rough sketch. "Something like this, mebbe? _Perhaps_?" Qi handed the pen back.

Wu's slow smile illuminated his face. "Qi. You are a wonder. A treasure! They'd be short enough that we could use a continuous line of them, a sort of table runner of flowers and candles. Oh, _perfect_. Perfect!" He frowned slightly. "Although camellias don't have any fragrance. Not that you want it to overpower the food or anything like that, but a subtle floral fragrance always helps people to relax, adds to the general good feeling of an evening."

"What about scented candles? I've bought some from the perfumery over on Chiming Breeze Street before. They are pretty nice. The perfume is real... _quite_...subtle." 

Wu stared at Qi until Qi's cheeks flushed just slightly pink. "Yes. That's an excellent idea. Thank you, Qi. I mean that quite sincerely. This is very helpful to me." Wu laughed a little. "Any interest Mako has in these sorts of things - and there is not much interest, believe me - always centers around dessert."

Qi smiled back. "Well, he's not much for this sort of thing."

"He's not, bless the lovely man." The pen tapped against Wu's lip again for a moment; Wu then opened one of the desk drawers and took out another pen, handing it to Qi. "Speaking of which, I haven't even started to tackle the idea of dinner. Crab is completely out; I've got two people with allergies. Other than that, I'm open to ideas."

"What else do you have planned besides dinner?"

"For post-dinner entertainment, you mean? I'm going to have Buniq - you know, the waterbending poet?" At Qi's nod Wu continued. "She's going to read aloud the poem she won first prize for in the city's poetry contest last year."

"So nothing too heavy for dinner, then. You don't want folks... _the guests_...falling asleep after dinner, right?"

Wu's laughter rang out before he clapped a hand across his mouth, looking guiltily at the door. His eyes danced. "So what do you suggest?"

Qi grinned back and shrugged. "Chicken always works. Arctic hen?" Qi tapped Buniq's name at the head of the table. "Since you've got a waterbender as your guest of honor. What about how LoLo does it, with the plum and pepper sauce?"

"Perfect!" Wu slid over a piece of paper and nodded at Qi. "Write it down, then."

Qi wrote. "I'm never going to write like you do, you know."

Wu snorted. "I should hope not. I'm sure most children have better things to do than practice their calligraphy for two hours a day. So. Arctic hen with plum and pepper sauce. What else?" Wu smiled. "I have to tell you, it is terribly convenient to have you right across the hall from me. I could get used to this."

Qi smiled back. "Me too."  They smiled at each other for a long moment before getting back into the important business of side dishes.


	6. A Hint of Trouble: Qi Buys New Clothes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Qi buys a few new things to wear.

"But it doesn't feel right if Qi doesn't come," said Zhi, standing next to the gangplank to the airship, his little face crumpling. "Qi, won't you come?"

"Darling, Qi is entitled to take a holiday away from us every once in awhile. Besides, it's only going to be a week." Wu ran his hand gently down the back of Zhi's head.

"You'll be so busy having fun with all your Zaofu cousins you won't even notice I'm gone," Qi said with a little smile. "I go- I _have_ things I need to do here, little man. I'll come next time, okay? I promise, and you know I always keep my promises."

Qi kissed the children goodbye and stayed long enough to wave at them as the airship took off before returning to the car. Lin and LoLo had left the day before to visit LoLo's parents in the Imperial City (Lin had told Qi that the Firelord had guilted LoLo into it) and Mako would be working during the day, of course. It wasn't that Qi wouldn't miss everyone; it's just that sometimes a person needed time to themselves.

Before going back to the house Qi stopped off to pick up an order Qi'd placed in the upper ring of the Little Ba Sing Se Fashion mall. A few new shirts; a bespoke suit in a brown and fuchsia herringbone tweed that Qi had known was necessary from the first moment Qi had seen the swatch of fabric in the designer's book. A new pair of boots, too. Winter would be coming on very soon now and Qi had already given last year's boots to one of the kids that hung about the park across the street from the house. There were a few other things besides.

House. Qi had to smile. _House_ is what Wu called it, but it was a mansion, clear enough. A few years back a Ba Sing Se historian had written up a book about the history of the royal palace, including plenty of archival photographs and drawings of how it had looked before the Red Lotus had killed the Queen and the riots had torn it apart. Wu had written a forward to the book for her and she had, of course, given him a copy. Qi had spent hours looking through the book, marveling at the magnificence of it all. Qi still couldn't believe that Wu had grown up that way. It really did explain why a man who had grown up in a palace would consider this place just a _house_ , however. A house that took an entire staff of maids as well as a gardener to keep it maintained, mind. 

Wu, of course, took it for granted. LoLo had also grown up in and around a palace, and it had been Lin's childhood home, after all. Lin's mother, despite her unorthodox life, was still old Earth Kingdom nobility. Lin herself didn't know how to cook, no less clean properly. She once told Qi that she'd always sent her own clothes away to a laundry service. The children certainly weren't any different; Wu had some fairly conservative ideas about what royal children were expected to do and housework was definitely not one of those ideas.

Qi had always managed Qi's own rooms above the garage. However, the new rooms that Qi had moved into the month before were cleaned by the maid service. Qi wasn't sure how comfortable Qi was with that, but when Qi mentioned it to Mako he had just sighed. "Relationships are a give and take," Mako had told Qi, the two of them sitting in the pavilion in the backyard, enjoying the last warmth of the summer fading into fall. "Wu has never wanted me to work. He hates it. Oh, he'll never say it, but he does. I know he wishes I'd be a good society husband for him but we all know it's never going to fly. I suck at that kind of thing. So I work and I just accept the fact that I live in a house as big as half a fucking city block and that other people are scrubbing my toilets and shining my shoes. Sure I wish the kids knew how to do things for themselves. But on the other hand, why? Wu has a point. They're always going to be rich, why pretend otherwise?"

Qi didn't know where Qi stood. Wu had made it very clear he no longer considered Qi just a driver, even though Qi still drove Wu around. Qi couldn't imagine not doing that; by household decree Wu wasn't allowed to get behind the wheel, and if Qi couldn't take him then Mako or Lin filled in. (LoLo had never learned to drive and never seemed to care one way or the other. Qi often drove LoLo where he wanted to be, although since Lin had retired and had started leaving her own car in the garage with Mako and Qi's cars she ferried LoLo about as well.)

Qi wasn't a spouse; wasn't a sibling or a child. If Qi wasn't a driver, then what was Qi? _Who_ was Qi? 

Qi didn't know, and Qi wasn't the kind of person who settled easily with not knowing how things stood.

The house was eerily silent by the time Qi got home. Since it was only Qi and Mako at home for the next week Wu had told the maid service they'd only need to come by every three days; the house was empty. Qi wandered the first floor with all of the parcels from the design house, unconsciously listening for Meili's happy greeting, the way she always came running from wherever she was, ready to throw herself into whomever's arms were the closest for a hug and a kiss. Even the kitchen - inarguably the heart of the house - was hushed. No clattering of pots and pans, no LoLo's warm baritone singing along to the radio or Lin's acerbic comments. Qi had never been in the house alone before. It made the hair stand up on Qi's arms and the back of Qi's neck a little bit.

Qi climbed the stairs up to the third floor, going straight to the bedroom to carefully hang up all of Qi's purchases in the walk-in closet, gently smoothing out the few wrinkles. The new suit pleased Qi to no end. Well. Qi's entire closet pleased Qi to no end. All of Qi's suits were hung up according to season and color; the same with the shirts, the sweater vests, the shoes. Wu - understanding perfectly - had even made sure the closet had a proper space for Qi's hats.

Off to one side were Qi's uniforms. Dull things, gray with silver buttons, austere and drab. Oh, how Qi had loved those uniforms when Wu had first bought them! Qi's teenage self had marveled over them, staring into the mirror, hardly believing that the severely neat person with the clipped hair was the same Qi who had been so hungry the week prior that Qi'd been sleepless with the constant ache in Qi's belly. Those uniforms had meant everything to Qi; safety, security, even acceptance.

Now, though...they felt like they were holding Qi back. Trapping Qi into a life that was as subdued as they were. They were the old Qi, the Qi that lived alone, that faded into the background, that tried to keep where no one would notice Qi.

Qi might not know yet who Qi was, true. But Qi surely knew who Qi was _not_. With a sigh, Qi took off the uniform that Qi was wearing and stuffed it forcefully into the laundry hamper there in the closet. "I'm not wearin' you for the next week, so fuck off," Qi muttered, and went into the bathroom to draw a bath, taking up the book Qi was currently reading and putting plenty of bath oil in with the water. Wu loved his jasmine scent, but Qi was fond of a spicier blend, musky with a hint of vanilla.

Qi soaked long enough in the bath to wrinkle all over; afterwards Qi put on Qi's dressing gown and lounged on the bed, finishing up the book. It felt decadent to do it. But what did Qi need to get done? Nothing. Absolutely nothing at all.

Qi was on holiday.

It was later than Qi realized when Qi heard Mako calling up the stairs. "You up there? I stopped off at Chin's to get us some dinner."

"Yeah! Give me a minute, I'll be down." Qi quickly changed into trousers and a shirt, not bothering to comb back Qi's hair. It was only Mako, after all. Qi took the stairs down quickly to find Mako in the kitchen, his jacket slung over one chair, his tie thrown onto the table itself, sleeves already rolled up. Mako nodded a greeting, handing Qi a pair of chopsticks. They ate right out of the cartons, but not before Mako poured them both some whiskey. At Qi's raised eyebrow Mako shrugged.

"You're off duty, I'm off duty. Live a little for once."

Eating with Mako was comfortable. Neither one of them were chatterers; without Wu propping up the conversation they were mostly quiet. It was a relaxed kind of quiet, though. Qi had always liked that about Mako, even back in the days when Mako had intimidated Qi, made Qi feel small and young and helpless. Mako was a man who wasn't particularly good at small talk. Seeing as Qi was a person who wasn't all that fond of small talk, it worked out well for them.

Eventually, when they had finished dinner, they migrated into the living room, sitting on the couch and putting their feet up on the coffee table. Wu wouldn't approve, but Wu wasn't there. "This house is so quiet it's kind of freaking me out," Mako said, tipping some more whiskey into their glasses. "I keep expecting Zhi to come around the corner and start blabbing."

"I was thirteen," Qi blurted out, much to Qi's own surprise. Hmmm. Maybe three shots of whiskey were two shots too much.

"Say what now?"

"When you met me. Arrested me, I mean. I was thirteen. Just about fourteen."

Mako's eyebrows raised. "You told me you were sixteen. So...you're telling me you're twenty-one now, instead of twenty-four?"

Qi nodded. "Be- _I'll be_ twenty-two next month. I usually lied about my age back then. Seemed safer."

"I get that."

"Don't know why I never said otherwise. I guess I never thought it was all that important."

"So why are you telling me now?" Mako leaned back, narrowing his eyes to study Qi's face. Qi knew that look. It was the one Wu referred to as Mako's Detective Look.

Qi stared down at the coffee table, rolling the whiskey glass in a circle. "I don't know. Well. That's not true either. I guess it's because I'm trying to stop lying about things." Qi looked up quickly. "I was always in the habit, you know?"

Mako smiled a little at that. "I do know, actually." He laughed and drank down his whiskey. "Vaatu's left nut, an almost fourteen year old driving my husband around this city. I can't fucking believe it."

"Yeah," Qi said. "Sorry about that."

"Does Wu know?"

"No. I never said anything to him. Don-  _I_ don't think he guessed either. Lin figured out right quick I was younger than I said, though."

"Sounds like her." They were quiet for a time before Qi suddenly swallowed the rest of the whiskey in Qi's glass.

"I...well...yeah. You're a trustworthy man, right?" Qi shot a quick look at Mako, who nodded.

"I try to be."

"Because I...well. I want to..." Qi struggled a little to find the words. "You'd tell me if I was being a fool, right? You wouldn't just not tell me? You'd let me know?"

Mako nodded again. "I'd be honest with you, if that's what you're asking."

Qi sat there for a minute, and then poured another shot of whiskey, draining it in one gulp, trying not to cough at the unfamiliar burn. "You promise me? You'll tell me if I'm makin' a fool of myself?"

"I give you my word." Mako was staring. "You want to tell me what this is all about?"

Qi surged up. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Just...stay there, okay? I'll be back." Qi went quickly out of the room before Qi could think better of it, dashing up the two flights of stairs and into Qi's closet. Fingers shaking just a little, Qi took off the trousers and the shirt and hung them neatly up before pulling out the other thing Qi had brought home from the design house and putting it on.

Qi stared into the mirror. The jumpsuit was like nothing else that Qi had ever seen; white satin and cut on the bias, the trousers full and flowing nearly to the floor, the neckline cut into a slight V. The matching bolero jacket had bell sleeves embroidered at the bottom in a diamond pattern with gold thread. Qi's knife sheaths would fit underneath without a problem, something that Qi had made sure of when Qi had given the designer Qi's first sketches of the idea. Qi hadn't yet found shoes to match that Qi felt comfortable in; the designer suggested a pair of white boots but Qi wasn't sure. Nothing with a heel and nothing that would easily slide off Qi's foot; Qi needed to be able to move at a moment's notice.

Qi's hair was a soft cap on Qi's head; waving just slightly at the ends, far lighter in color than when Qi combed it back with pomade. Qi fussed at it a bit before taking a deep breath. If Qi did not do this now, Qi would most likely never find the courage to do it at all. Barefoot, Qi headed back down the stairs, the trousers rippling and flowing about Qi's ankles. Qi had never worn satin next to the skin like this; it whispered with a seductive slithering sound, making Qi's bare nipples harden.

"There you..." Mako's voice trailed off as Qi came back into the room. Mako froze, staring.

Qi swallowed. "I had it made. It's...it's not what I usually wear. Obviously. I still ain-  _I'm still not_ sure about it. But you said you'd be honest, so..." Qi gestured down. "Do I look like a fool?" Qi's hands fisted up and Qi had to force Qi's knees to stop trembling. Mako still said nothing. "You can tell me. If I look stupid, just tell me. I don't want to go out in the world to be no laughin'stock for nobody." 

Mako stood up and walked in a slow circle around Qi. He came back around to face Qi, still saying nothing.

"You ain't sayin' nothin'. I look the fool, don't I?" Qi started to back up, but Mako reached out a quick hand and grabbed Qi's wrist.

"Give me a minute," Mako said. He didn't let go of Qi's wrist. "I've never seen you wear anything like this."

Qi bit down on Qi's lip. "I never have." Qi shrugged self-consciously. "I always liked these kinds of clothes but I thought I'd look real stupid."

"It's amazing," Mako said, gesturing at the bolero. "You know I'm not good with fashion like Wu is, but it's a knockout. _You're_ a knockout. You look...really good, Qi. Really good."

"I don't want nobody to laugh at me," Qi said, and Qi angrily wiped at the tears gathering in Qi's eyes. "Mebbe I act like I don't care none, but I do."

Mako stepped back, finally letting go of Qi's wrist. "Qi, I have to be honest with you. I don't think anyone would laugh at you in that. You...don't get me wrong, you always look good. You always look sharp in all of your suits. You know how Wu feels about them, and like I said, I'm no good with fashion, but you always look nice. But this..." Mako laughed a little. "I'm not sure that _nice_ is the word I would use."

"What word would you use, then?" Qi felt like Qi's body was on fire. How much whiskey had Qi had? Too much. Qi's head was buzzing. The air changed, somehow; Qi felt like Qi wasn't getting enough air. Qi's eyes darted towards the stairs and Qi's hand crept up to Qi's throat. What had Kya said? Opening up the throat chakra? Speaking the truth? Qi wasn't sure if Qi was ready for this truth or not.

Mako's hand moved to slide down the satin over Qi's hip. He sucked in a breath. "I think right now the word I would use is _trouble_ ," he said. "That outfit is trouble. And fuck knows I've done this kind of trouble before." He took his hand back and stepped backwards. "Let's just...how about you save that to show Wu, okay? Get his opinion. I can't..." He took another step backwards. "I'm just going to head off to bed, okay? I'll catch you in the morning." He grabbed the whiskey bottle on his way out of the room, not looking back.

Qi stood there for a long moment, hands crossed to clutch at Qi's arms, throat tightening up painfully. "No more lies," Qi whispered before spinning around, trousers flaring, to run up the stairs, past the closed bedroom door on the second floor landing, up and into Qi's own rooms, to land on Qi's bed, the loose fabric of the trousers billowing before resting on Qi's coverlet. Qi lay on Qi's back, staring up at the ceiling, head whirling.

"Trouble," Qi said experimentally, listening to the sound of the word disturb the silence of the house. "Trouble."

Qi's eyes closed. " _Trouble_ ," Qi breathed out, fingers caressing the satin across Qi's chest. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Qi's jumpsuit was inspired by a jumpsuit worn by actress Anna May Wong.
> 
>  


	7. An Enervating Steam: A Bit Of Relaxation After Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mako uses the steam room after a long day at work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was per request from aggressivelycalm. I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> It references [this drabble.](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8305367/chapters/19018556)

Mako stretched his neck from side to side, wincing a little at the deep crunching noise it made. Two weeks of overtime on a high profile case had meant he'd been leaving early every morning and coming home late every night and doing nothing more than dropping into bed. He missed his kids, missed his husband, and hadn't had a second to himself to run through his firebending forms. He'd wrapped up the case that afternoon and still had to go and make nice with the president's brother-in-law, a pompous jerk whom Wu liked to refer to as _That Odious Social Climber_. Social climber was right. Mako'd gone by his house to return his wife's stolen jewelry (the lower rung Terra Triad member who'd stolen it had tried to fence it to Mako's partner Chiyo, who was working undercover) and the guy had tried to smarm his way into an invitation to Wu's next party.

He'd come home, showered, tossed all three kids onto the living room floor to wrestle with them for awhile before helping Naoki with her math homework. He was exhausted and keyed up; never a good combination. After the kids had gone to bed he'd gone down the basement and put himself through his bending forms, trying to loosen up tense muscles and clear his brain. 

He yanked his undershirt off and tossed it into the hamper next to the steam room. The rest of his clothes followed. He'd fired up the steam room before he started his forms; it was ready for him and he stepped inside, quickly shutting the door behind him. With a sigh he made his way to one of the long benches and laid down. The wood underneath him was so hot as to be nearly unbearable; Wu always point blank refused to sit on it without a towel but he loved the burn of it on his skin.

"Fuck," he said, to no one in particular. He hated these damn cases. Song, the new police chief, kept putting him on cases where he was required to rub shoulders and elbows with the City's so-called finest. _Who else am I going to have do it?_ Song had asked him, shrugging. _None of the rest of us here have any experience with these kinds of people._  Mako banged a fist into the bench. That's all he needed, to be the designated Departmental Ass Kisser. He and Chiyo had always worked in the seedier districts but it had been changing more and more lately. _I can't help it, Mako,_ Song had said. _People know who you are nowadays. Yours is a recognizable face. Chiyo can still pass there but I can't send the husband of Wu Hou-Ting dockside and expect him not to get recognized. I know you grew up there. I know you can pass, accent and all. But you're in the damn papers on a fairly regular basis. What do you want me to do?_

Chiyo wasn't any happier about it than he was, and Mako was afraid she was going to ask for a transfer to a new partner. He wouldn't hold it against her if she did but she'd been his partner for years now and he both trusted and liked her. She'd had his back, every single time. Losing her would feel like a hard kick to the balls. The pisser of the thing was that Mako wasn't any better now at kissing ass than he had ever been. He might rub shoulders and elbows with these people but he was no Wu, charming the pants off of them and playing their rich people intimidation games with finesse. He knew the only reason he got away with it was because of his connection to Wu and his own pretty face. 

Not for the first time he cursed his own good looks. Most people would kill to look like he did; in Mako's experience, however, most people never looked past his face to see the person beyond. He hadn't minded when he was twenty but twenty was thirteen years and an entirely different life ago. All he wanted to be was a good cop, a cop that mattered, a cop that made a difference. Tracking down heavily insured jewelry for a rich woman who had no sentimental attachment to her baubles was not his fucking idea of making a difference, that was for damn sure. 

The door to the steam room creaked open and quickly shut. 

"I can't see a thing without my spectacles," Wu said. "Shall I grope around blindly for you or will you tell me where you are? Although I can still grope if you'd like."

Mako smiled. "I'm over here." He sat up and leaned forward, putting his hand out to take Wu's hand in his, guiding him over. Wu promptly sat down in his lap and Mako's arms automatically went around him. So thin, as always. Mako nuzzled into his neck and Wu laughed.

"My goodness, what a lovely reception. You aren't going to dump me on the floor this time, are you?"

Mako bit at one of Wu's earlobes, enjoying Wu's automatic shudder. "You surprised me the last time. You were a sneaky little shit back in those days, you know. Any excuse to get your hands on me."

Wu laughed. "I keep telling you, that time was an accident!"

"Suuuuuuure it was. What about the time you so-called tripped trying to get into the car and knocked me flat? You landed right on top of me."

"Oh, that one was on purpose, of course. When have you known me to be clumsy?"

"Or the time you _accidentally_ bumped into me at that gallery opening and put your hands on my ass?"

"Can you blame me? I was seventeen. I had been dying to get my hands on any part of you, really. And there it was, bending over, fabric stretched in the most enticing way." Wu sighed melodramatically. "I'm not sure what else you expected me to do about it."

Mako shook a little with his quiet laughter, Wu bouncing a bit in his lap. "You weren't exactly subtle."

"Have some pity! I was in daily torment! It was much easier when I had old and ugly bodyguards. And I can assure you I never had a lustful thought about Yumi."

"And I'm supposed to believe that it was an accident that you lost your towel and sat in my lap, hmm?"

"Mako. My love. Do you really think at that juncture in time I would have willingly exposed my hair in its natural state to you?"

Mako thought on this for moment. "Huh. Good point."

"Naturally once I was actually _on_ your lap I was compelled to wriggle a bit."

"Naturally." Mako suckled at an earlobe and Wu shivered.

"If you had done this to me back then you might have precipitated my demise, I'll just have you know."

"Mmmhmm. What if I had done this?" Mako's hand slid over Wu's thigh and found what it was looking for, giving it a lingering caress.

Wu's breath caught. "Definitely would have killed me. My teenage brain would have exploded on the spot." His laugh was a little shaky. "I hate to be the one who points out the obvious, but I'm not a firebender and you've got this turned up to Mako temperatures. I don't think it would be a great idea for me health-wise to get any hotter than I already am."

Mako didn't answer, just laid himself back down on the bench, easily maneuvering Wu to lay on top of him. "Stay with me for awhile? Just until I get my neck muscles relaxed?"

Wu laughed into his collarbone. "So this position actually relaxes you? Interesting."

Mako held him close. "Not really. Or can't you tell?"

"Oh, I can tell."

"Just five minutes? I'll make it worth your while, I promise. You know I'm good for it."

Wu nestled his ship's prow of a nose into his neck. Spirits but Mako loved that nose; loved the frizz of curls that were springing up all over Wu's head despite the pomade. "I know you are."

Mako took in a deep lungful of steam, Wu rising and falling along with his chest. "Song gave me the day off tomorrow."

"Did he now? Well. I had a meeting tomorrow but I can beg off."

"Maybe we can pull Naoki out of school for a day? Get LoLo to throw us together a picnic, maybe drive down the coast a bit? It's not warm enough for swimming or surfing but we can let the kids roam the beach for awhile. What do you say?"

"I say that I wholeheartedly approve," Wu said softly. He was smiling; Mako could hear it in his voice. On impulse he brought his hands up to cup Wu's head, pulling his mouth to his. He kissed him; a little desperately, perhaps, but Wu knew better than to say anything about it. He would later, Mako knew; Wu wasn't one to ignore when he was feeling stressed or low. Wu always knew it, no matter how Mako tried to hide it. But for now he relaxed himself into the kiss, fingers tangling in Wu's curls. Oh, but Wu felt good, the way he always did. He could smell the jasmine scent that Wu always used and the softness of Wu's pampered skin against his own body had its usual effect on him.

He pulled Wu away. "Fuck it. I don't want to wait." He sat up, easily swinging Wu into his arms before standing up. "I can come back tomorrow."

Wu laughed up at him through the haze of steam. "What, no more relaxing?"

"I can relax when I'm done with you," Mako answered. "I'd haul you upstairs like this but I guess we'd best put on robes."

"Alas! The practicalities of living in a house full of people. Also, as unromantic as it may be, I do need my spectacles."

Mako put him down gently. "Well, get your glasses and your robe and be quick about it before I change my mind and do you on the training room floor."

Wu laughed as he opened the door and stepped out of the steam room, his hair in a chaotic halo about his head. "I always obey my bodyguard, of course."

"You never obeyed anyone a damn day in your life," Mako said, and he remembered to toggle off the steam room before grabbing a robe and following his husband up the stairs.


	8. An Unsuitable Exchange: Dinner With The Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A dinner conversation in Wu and Mako's home goes decidedly south.

"By the way," Lin said as she dished herself up some noodles, "I'll pick Naoki up from school tomorrow, Qi."

Qi glanced over from across the large table in the kitchen. "Fine with me."

"How come?" Naoki asked, perking up at her end of the table.

"Well, I thought you and I could do a little shopping. Girl thing."

"I'm a girl," Meili piped up.

"What kind of girl shopping?" Naoki asked, putting down her chopsticks.

"I was thinking I'd take you over to the Little Ba Sing Se fashion mall, the two of us could look at some brassieres together." Lin raised an eyebrow Naoki's way. "It's getting to be about that time for you."

Mako's hand froze halfway up to his mouth, chopsticks dangling midair.

"Oh, Asami said she'd be happy to take her when it was time," Wu said.

Lin turned her head slowly to stare at Wu. "Are you saying that I need Asami Sato to do it for me? You think I don't know how to shop for a bra for an eleven year old girl?"

"Gracious me, not at all," Wu said, quickly pouring more wine into his glass. "Forget I said a word."

"Really, Lin?" Naoki's eyes lit up. "I can really get one?"

"Well, you don't have all that much yet, but it's not a bad idea to go there, take a look, see what there is to see." Lin neatly swiped the sauce out of LoLo's hand.

"Can I have a red one?"

"We'll see."

"Well, that's not fair! I want a trip to the brassiere store!" Zhi looked indignant.

"Dork! You don't wear a bra!" Naoki stabbed at him scornfully with a chopstick. "But Fishy can come if she wants to, right Lin?" She smiled over at Meili.

"If she wants to come, she's welcome." Lin nodded down at Meili, sitting next to her.

"Okay," Meili said. "Girl shopping."

"Well, can only girls go to that shop? Is it a rule?" Zhi was scowling. "Don't boys ever go to that shop?"

"If men want to buy fancy lingerie for their wives or girlfriends, sure," LoLo said. "Generally speaking, men don't usually wear brassieres. However," he added quickly, as Zhi's mouth opened, cutting him off, "There's no rule. Men can buy brassieres for whatever reason they'd like."

"Hmmm." Zhi thought a moment. "Well, have _you_ ever bought a brassiere, LoLo?"

"For myself? No. For a lady?" LoLo winked at Lin. "It's been known to happen."

"How come?" Zhi wanted to know.

"Well, darling, some people find lingerie very attractive," Wu answered. "Be it brassieres or any other kind of underthings."

Mako made a very distressed noise. 

"Oh." Zhi thought about this as well. "Well, do men like ladies' bosoms? Without brassieres, I mean?"

"I suppose it depends on the man," answered Wu. 

"Or the lady," Naoki said, helping herself to some fish. "Yumi likes bosoms, I bet. I bet she likes them a _lot._ "

"Spirits but I love eating here," said Wei with a grin. "Why a man would eat alone in his own flat I have no idea." He dug into his noodles with relish.

"Do you like bosoms, Uncle Wei?" Zhi asked.

"You know, I've got to go with a no on that one. They've never done much for me."

"But not Uncle Wing, though, right? He _must_ like bosoms. Auntie Nuo has enormous ones." Zhi demonstrated with his hands held out in front of his chest.

Qi's 's hand went up to Qi's mouth and Qi's shoulders started to shake.

"Nuo's tits are half the reason he married her," Wei started with a grin, but stopped when a quick elbow from Qi slammed into his midsection.

"Tits?" Meili asked, looking around the table.

"Darling, that is a slang term for a woman's breasts and it is vulgar and I do _not_ appreciate it at my dinner table," said Wu with a quelling look sent Wei's way.

"Sorry, kids. Aunt Lin. That's not a word I should have used." Wei actually looked abashed for once.  "Won't happen again."

"What about you, LoLo? Do you like big bosoms?" Zhi was undeterred.

"Well, honey, it's not an endgame for me. I appreciate lots of things about ladies, and that's just one of the things. It's not a dealbreaker for me one way or the other, though."

"Lin has bigger bosoms than Granny Su," Meili added.

"Su always was flat as a board. Took after our mother that way." Lin continued to eat.

"What about you, Papa?"

"Oh Zhi, darling, I really never did concern myself all that much with women's endowments. I can certainly appreciate the general aesthetic, of course."

"What about you, Daddy?"

Mako sucked in a large breath of air and frowned. "I'm not...can we change the subject?" 

"Well, Daddy dated both Asami and Korra, and they have totally different kinds so I guess he just likes bosoms no matter what." Naoki shrugged. "I hope mine aren't as big as Korra's. She told me they get in the way sometimes when she's bending." Naoki made a face. "I would hate that."

Mako stared at his plate and refused to make eye contact with anyone. He closed his eyes and took another deep breath.

"But what do they feel like? That's what I want to know. Are they squishy?" Zhi looked around the table. "LoLo?"

"Some are, some aren't. Not a pair that are alike, that's the truth of it." LoLo winked at Lin, who snorted back at him.

"Hmmm." Zhi frowned in thought. "Well, what about the difference between Korra and Asami's bosoms, Daddy? Were Korra's squishier?"

Qi made a muffled noise and conveniently dropped a napkin under the table, diving quickly to fetch it. A noise that sounded suspiciously like laughter floated up. Wei had a sudden coughing fit.

"I am not talking about this," Mako's voice was strained and he sent a glare around the table. 

"Zhi, I know you are curious. However, it is not considered polite at _all_ to discuss women's bosoms like this." Wu was fighting back a smile.

"Oh," Zhi said. "Well, why not?"

"Because it isn't!" Mako shouted.

"Daddy, _because_ isn't a good reason." Zhi bit his lip. "Well, can I feel _your_ bosoms, Lin?" Zhi looked hopeful. Qi's head, which had been making its way back up from under the table, disappeared again.

"No." Her look warned him to drop it.

Zhi sighed. "Well, I guess I can ask Auntie Nuo the next time I see her. Or, hey! Maybe I can ask Auntie Opal!"

"Yeah, I wouldn't ask Opal. Just a little hint from me to you," Wei said, trying very hard to keep a straight face. 

Zhi threw his hands up into the air, a movement very reminiscent of Mako at his most exasperated. "Is it too much for me to just have one bosom to feel?" He turned to his sister. "Can I feel yours when they come in, then?"

Naoki rolled her eyes. "Like I want your little grubby hands on my bosoms."

"My hands are _not_ grubby! I washed them!"

"Yaozhi, that is quite enough. I do not want to hear that you are importuning women in order to satisfy your curiosity about their bodies. It is neither acceptable nor respectful in polite society. Do I make myself entirely clear?" Wu gave Zhi a very stern look. 

"Well, _fine_ then, Papa. I won't _importune_." Zhi slumped down in his chair before suddenly sitting up straight. "Well, what if I pay them? I have my pocket money!"

An explosion of laughter came from under the table, and LoLo gave up, putting his head into his hands and roaring with laughter, Wei joining in. Lin smacked at LoLo's arm ineffectually.

"Pull it together, Lozan!"

"Why is that funny? I wasn't trying to be funny!" Zhi was insulted. "Why does everyone always laugh at me when I am not trying to be funny!"

"You started it," LoLo said through his laughter. He drained half of his wine glass and attempted to compose himself.

"Zhi, my darling...you cannot offer to pay women to feel their breasts!" Wu put on his most serious face. "We will discuss why it is inappropriate later, all right? But for now perhaps we could discuss something else. And Qi can come out from beneath the table. If Qi would not _mind_."

Qi came up from under the table, face slightly flushed. "I'm sorry. I dropped my napkin."

Wei snorted at this and Qi immediately put the rogue napkin up to Qi's face. A distinct chortle was heard from behind the napkin, which set Wei off again. LoLo tried his very best not to start laughing again.

He failed.

Lin sighed very loudly. 

" _Honestly_ ," said Wu, and he shot a look of disgust down the table before pouring Mako another glass of wine.  "Oh, Mako. Don't look like that. You knew it was coming eventually."

Mako was near to tears. "She's just a baby still." He looked over at Naoki, who was trying to pull the napkin away from Qi's face, giggling madly. "She's only eleven. She's too young for all of this."

Lin reached over Meili's head to put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "That's how it goes for girls. She's got a good head on her shoulders, Mako. She'll be okay. She's got a whole family of people looking out for her." She looked over to where Qi had both Naoki and Zhi on Qi's lap, tickling them mercilessly while they giggled and Wei dove in with his fingers as well.

Meili hugged her father around his bicep. "I'm still little, Daddy." Mako scooped her up and kissed her before wiping at his eyes.

"I need to get over myself. I just can't help but remember how I found her, wrapped up in that blanket. She was crying her eyes out but she stopped when I picked her up and held her. It goes too fast. How can it go this fast?"

Lin gave a little smile. "Wait until you're my age. Time starts to fly." She squeezed his shoulder.

"Okay now, my dinner's getting cold," LoLo said, finally managing to get a hold of himself again. "Everyone back in their seats. Yes, that means you too, Butterfly. No more bosom talk, mind. Wei, what's this I hear about the Ba Sing Se Badgermoles possibly getting a new waterbender?"

Mako squeezed Meili extra tightly before setting her back into her chair.


	9. An Inevitable Passage: Discussing The Children

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wu and Mako discuss their children.
> 
> Written for my beta reader, Jac, who wanted this drabble. I can refuse that woman nothing!

"Mako! Are you there?" Wu called down the stairs, standing at the top of the landing.

"What?" 

"Have you seen my gold and emerald cuff links? The ones with the bar cut emeralds?"

"No. Did they get mixed up with mine?"

"Why on earth would you take my cuff links?"

"We got the new maid last week, remember? Maybe she mixed them up."

"Mako! Must we shout up and down the stairs like guttersnipes?"

"I _am_ a guttersnipe."

"Well, can you come up here, then?"

"Wu! I'm trying to listen to the news! Just go fish through mine. Or are your royal fingers broken?"

"Fine," Wu muttered, stalking across the landing and back into the bedroom, through the door into Mako's dressing room. He sighed. Mako had a point about the new maid. Raava herself only knew where half of their belongings had been stashed. Zhi was still going on and on about missing a specimen and Wu had a sinking feeling the new maid had actually disposed of it. Oh, they'd never hear the end of it if that was the case. Maybe he'd make her sit in a room with Zhi for an hour so _she_ could listen to him wail about it. Wu would guarantee that she'd never misplace anything else of Zhi's again.

Wu tsked as he looked around the room. Mako was not, contrary to popular belief, a particularly orderly man when it came to his belongings. Wu had always supposed he was too busy keeping track of things in his precise mind to bother with the physical. There were a pair of trousers, half slumped across a bench onto the floor; several ties had been considered and then discarded across a counter. Never mind the crumpled shirt laying in the middle of the floor. Wu picked the ties up and smoothed them down, hanging them back up properly. It's why he'd insisted on having separate dressing rooms when he had the house remodeled for them all those years ago. He loved the man, but he'd fallen over a pair of his discarded shoes in the dark one too many times. At least the chaos was somewhat contained this way.

Wu spent a few minutes tidying things up before he opened up Mako's jewelry cabinet. Mako wasn't much for jewelry; he had his wedding ring, which he always wore, despite it being hidden under the glove he wore to hide his burn scars. He also had a few sets of cufflinks and tie pins, but that was it. Wu immediately saw the embossed green silk box that held his emerald bar cuff links, opening it to make sure they were in there. He had no idea whatsoever why the maid would take his cuff links and put them into Mako's dressing room. Unlike his husband, Wu was a very tidy man and he was quite sure he had put them away properly. Well, he'd just have to speak to her, obviously. He sighed again.

There was also a small pink box tucked in among Mako's things. Curious, Wu reached out and took it, opening it carefully. Inside, nestled in white velvet, was a lovely enameled ring. Wu smiled in delight; it was covered with tiny, bright butterflies, clearly meant for Naoki. Wasn't that just like Mako! He often brought home little surprises for the children; a new doll's dress for Meili, sidewalk chalk for Zhi, a skipping rope for Naoki. He'd see things that caught his eye when he was out and about at work, buying them impulsively. He'd told Wu once that it meant the world to him that he was able to do that; just buy something small that he thought the children would enjoy, without having to count up the cost of everything.

It was, in fact, the reason why Wu himself rarely brought the children home gifts. He knew how much it meant to Mako as a father to be able to do these things for them; Wu didn't want to add himself into that. Spending money was certainly not anything Wu thought twice about. But Mako loved to do these little things for them. It had never escaped Wu's notice, either, that Mako especially liked to buy pretty, frilly things for his girls. Just last week he'd presented Meili with a very large and frothy hair bow made of pale blue satin and lace, much to Meili's utter joy. She'd immediately put it in and was very reluctantly parted from it at bedtime.

He put the box back where he'd found it and went back into his own dressing room, fastening the cuff links into his shirt, pulling his jacket on. He had another few minutes before he and Qi needed to leave to spend the afternoon planning a benefit for the Conservatory of Music. He was bound and determined to cajole Katsura into playing the new piece she'd composed and had played for them at dinner a few weeks prior. He checked himself critically in the mirror and found himself acceptable before heading down the stairs.

Mako was sitting in the family's living room, feet on the coffee table, tea cup in hand. Wu strongly resisted the urge to express his displeasure about the placement of his husband's feet. Not well enough, apparently; Mako's feet swung off the table on their own accord.

"Found them?"

"Yes. The news over?" 

"Yeah. Nothing worth listening to anyhow."

Wu took a seat next to him. "I saw what else you had in there as well." At Mako's quizzical look, he smiled. "The ring."

Mako's face cleared. "Ah. Yeah, I saw it a couple of weeks ago, thought Naoki might like it." He twiddled his tea cup about. 

Wu raised an eyebrow. "Why haven't you given it to her? If you're waiting for her birthday it's going to be awhile."

"No, it's not that. I just...well. I'm not sure if she'll want it."

"Why on earth wouldn't she want it?" Wu craned his head to look at him. Mako was staring moodily into the tea cup and shrugged.

"Dunno. It's maybe a little too young for her now. I don't know if she still likes that kind of thing anymore."

Wu put his hand to Mako's arm. "Mako! Is this about the whole brassiere thing? Lin told me that she doesn't need much more than a sort of glorified chemise now as it is. Although I suppose that will be changing sooner rather than later."

Mako frowned unhappily. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Well, she couldn't stay a little girl forever, I suppose." Wu was not particularly bothered at the idea of any of his children growing older. After all, everyone did it. And in any case, he quite enjoyed Naoki's maturing wit and intelligence. She was growing into quite the splendid young lady, as far as her Papa was concerned.

"Well, I wish she would," Mako muttered. "I'm not ready."

Wu laughed at that, gently. Very gently. "Well, I don't suppose it matters if we are or not, so long as she is. Oh, Mako. She's still your little Butterfly, after all, and you are her Daddy. You should give her the ring." 

"Yeah. I just...what if she doesn't like that kind of thing any more? What if she thinks it's too babyish?" He looked over at Wu and Wu was surprised to see a hint of tears in his eyes. "What if she gets tired of all the butterfly things? Because she will eventually, I guess. She'll probably think it's too young, too stupid."

"Oh, Mako." Wu put his arms around him. "I assume her taste will change as she gets older. Doesn't it for all of us? But I don't think she's changed all that much. Not quite yet. And who can say? She knows what she likes, she always has. She's never been one to let anyone else dictate how she feels or what she wants, Raava herself knows." He laughed. "Stubborn streak, just like her father." He kissed Mako's cheek. "I know it worries you. I guess we'll all just have to figure it out. Take heart! By the time Meili needs a brassiere we'll be old hands at it! Oh Mako! No! Don't look like that! Meili's only four! We've got plenty of time with her!"

"I think I finally understand why it is that people decide to have another baby," Mako said, and sighed before resting his cheek against Wu's. "I miss having a baby around. Don't you?"

Wu snorted. "I do _not_. I have never been as enamored of infants as you are, you know that.  Give me a child you can speak to and reason with, please!"

"Really? You wouldn't want another one?"

Wu sighed. "Oh Mako, I don't know. It's not like we planned for the three we have, anyhow. They were just sort of dropped into our laps. Not that I am complaining, mind. You know I'm not. I wanted them every bit as much as you did. But I'm not sure we can just rely on random infants appearing in order to satisfy any parental urges we might have. Where on earth would we get a baby?"

"Yeah, I know. I know. I just...sometimes it's something I think about."

Wu stood up. "Well, you'll have to think alone this afternoon, because I hear Qi coming down the stairs and we must go. You may need to pick Qi up off the floor, however. I actually am ready on time for once."

"Proof that anything can happen if you only believe."

"Ha! Oh, such an amusing little man you are!" As Wu walked out of the room to meet with Qi he turned back. "Give her the ring, Mako. She'll love it."

Mako closed his eyes and smiled.


	10. The Game's Afoot: A Day At The Beach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Wuko family spends a summer day on the beach.

"Naoki, I would vastly prefer it if no one were drowned today. You wait for your father before you take that surfing board into the water. Do I make myself abundantly clear?" Wu glared at his eldest through his smoked lenses, safely ensconced in a sun chair under a very large umbrella.

"I'm not going to surf on it! I'm just going to sit on it!" Naoki's hands were on her hips and she glared right back.

"Don't you attempt semantics with me, young lady. You wait for your father, like he told you. He'll be right back."

"Qi is in the water! And Rohan!"

"Qi and Rohan both know how to surf and you do not. You wait for your father. End of story."

Naoki threw the surfboard down onto the beach and kicked an arc of flame towards the water before stomping off. He sighed. Eleven was turning out to be a fairly trying age.

He glanced around. Qi and Rohan were, as Naoki pointed out, already in the water; Rohan was using his airbending to kick up a wave that both he and Qi were riding with varying amounts of success. Meili was bending some water into rather wobbly spirals under Lin's watchful eye; LoLo was laying on a blanket on the beach itself, eyes closed, happy smile on his face. Well, LoLo did appreciate a warm day on the beach.

Zhi was a little further down the beach, already halfway up a cliff. He was looking for some sort of dragonfly, Wu knew. As he watched, a kuai ball was kicked with wild vigor and went spiraling out of bounds, landing close to where he was climbing. One of the boys who was playing went trotting after it; as he approached he said something to Zhi and he answered. Wu couldn't hear what they were saying, but the boy smiled at him and gestured towards the net before taking the ball and jogging back to put the ball back into the game. Zhi quickly shimmied down the cliff and stood for awhile, watching the other children play. It was likely the other boy had mistaken his age; Zhi was still two months away from his seventh birthday but was only a inch or so shorter than just turned eleven year old Naoki. That combined with his vocabulary meant that most people assumed he was much older than he was. He was still such a little boy in so many ways, however.

Mako returned from where they had parked the cars, Wu's book in hand. "Here." He handed it over.

"You are a very satisfactory husband," Wu smiled up at him. Mako smiled back.

"You're only saying that because I went to get your book for you."

Wu crooked his finger at him and Mako bent down, laughing. Wu kissed him. "Add it to the list of very satisfactory things you've done for me this morning."

"Day's still young. I could probably manage a few more."

"Could you please stop kissing. People are watching!" Naoki was there, glaring. "Daddy, I've had to wait forever."

"Last time I checked, four minutes wasn't forever." Mako winked at Wu and grabbed his face in his hands, planting another kiss on him. "Just in case people are watching."

"We wouldn't want to disappoint our adoring fans," Wu laughed.

"Come on!" Naoki grabbed her father's hand and tugged at him. With a grin Mako let himself be dragged away, down the beach to where his surfboard was standing upright in the sand, Naoki's sprawled next to it. Wu watched as Mako pointed at the water and spoke to Naoki; she was clearly eager to get into the ocean but Mako, as always, was not letting himself be rushed. He never did when he was teaching the children, no matter how impatient Naoki was.

"Hi Papa." Wu looked up to see Zhi standing next to his chair. Wu smiled and patted it invitingly and Zhi snuggled next to him.

"Did you find your dragonfly, darling?"

"Nuh-uh, not yet."

"Hmm." Wu ran a hand over the back of Zhi's head. "Did you want to go swimming?"

"Maybe later." Zhi rested his head against his father's chest. "Papa? Could I ask you a question?"

"Of course you may."

Zhi was silent, however, fidgeting a little. Wu waited. Sometimes, with Zhi, you had to wait until he was ready to say what he needed to say. He kept stroking his hair. Zhi had a slight smattering of pale freckles across his nose, something that he simply adored. He resisted the urge to kiss each and every one of them.

"Did you see that boy talking to me?"

"I did, yes."

"He asked me if I wanted to come and play with them. But I don't know how to play kuai ball. I told him that, and he said if I wanted to learn they could teach me."

"Well, that was very generous of him."

"I think he was a bigger boy, though."

"Yes, probably about Naoki's age, I'd guess."

Silence for a time, then, in a whisper: "I think that boy is nice looking." Zhi's cheeks flushed and he buried his head into his father's chest.

"Ah," said Wu, and he smiled. "Well, I couldn't see him very well from over here, but he looked very nice."

"He made my tummy feel all funny when he was talking to me," Zhi whispered.

"Yes, that happens sometimes. Especially if you think someone is good looking."

"Do you feel that way sometimes?"

Wu kissed the top of Zhi's head. "My goodness, yes. Many times."

"When was the first time?"

"Hmmm," said Wu, thinking. "Well, the first time I specifically remember was when I was about your age, I suppose. Seven or so. There was a Dai Li agent - you remember who the Dai Li are, right?"

"Yes, you told us."

"Right. Well, in any case, he was a new recruit, very young. Normally I never saw the recruits, only the very well trained Dai Li were the ones on my personal guard, you understand. But on this one particular day I was going for a walk around the palace grounds and the new recruits were being taken on some sort of tour. Usually they trained in the tunnels beneath the palace, but not on that day. I have no idea why. Doesn't matter, I suppose. We came across them and naturally they all kowtowed to me and then I was formally introduced." Wu laughed a little at the memory. "His name was Seok. Oh my, and wasn't he handsome! Brown eyes, I remember."

Zhi sat up a little bit. "What did you do?"

"Oh gracious me, nothing but stand there and then thank them formally for their service. It was what was expected of me at the time." He smiled at Zhi. "But that night, oh, I lay in my bed and I imagined that Seok and I would get married and live happily ever after."

Zhi grinned back. "You did? Really?"

"I most certainly did."

Zhi thought about it. "Did you think Daddy was handsome the first time you saw him?"

"I thought your father was the handsomest man I had ever seen. I still think that."

"Did he make your tummy feel all funny?"

Wu smiled. "Oh yes."

"But he wasn't your boyfriend then, was he?"

"No, darling. Not for several years after that. When I met your father I had a lot of growing up to do."

"But you still thought he was handsome."

Wu looked over Zhi's head, towards the water. Mako was out past the breakers, sitting on his surfboard with Naoki standing on it in front of him, holding onto her legs. "I did, yes," he said softly.

"But Papa, what if I like a boy and he doesn't like me back? What if he doesn't think I am handsome?"

Wu looked back at his son. "Well, I won't lie to you, Zhi. Sometimes it may be that someone that you like, very much, may not like you back. It doesn't feel very nice. But it happens."

Zhi frowned. "But what if it is because I am not handsome enough?"

"Oh, Zhi! Darling, anyone who would not love you because of how you look is not worthy of your love."

"You say that, Papa, but is it really true?"

Wu put a gentle hand to his son's chin and tilted it up so Zhi would meet his eyes. "Zhi, I am not very good looking. I have a very large nose and ears and a very weak chin. My hair is a fright and I am skinny and never could manage any sports. No one has ever looked at me and said, my goodness, what a handsome fellow that Wu is!"

"Papa! Don't say that! You are very nice looking!"

"Well, thank you, darling. My point, however, is that your father still loves me. When someone really loves you - really and truly loves you - your looks don't matter. It is true that I think your father is very handsome, but I would love him even if he looked like a hog monkey's bottom."

This got a giggle out of Zhi. "A hog monkey's bottom!"

"Yes well, luckily Daddy does not look like that. But even if he did. I would still love him, because all of those things I love about Daddy would still be a part of him. His kindness and his goodness and how intelligent he is, all of those things. I might have been attracted to your father because of his good looks, but I fell in love with him because he is Mako."

"Even though sometimes he yells and he always leaves his clothes all over the floor?"

Wu smiled. "Even though. Although I wish he wouldn't." Wu tapped Zhi's nose. "Someday, Zhi, you will find someone to love who will love you in return."

"Do you really think so, Papa?"

"I really do think so. Someday someone will love and cherish you because you are Zhi, and no one else."

Zhi threw his arms around his father and rested his head on his chest again.  "Someday I might want to get married and have children. But then sometimes I think I don't want to, that I just want to go around the world and look for my specimens. I don't know which is better."

"The good news is that you are not quite seven and you don't have to make any decisions about it today."

"Naoki says she is never going to get married and have children. She says that boys are stupid."

Wu laughed. "Well, that might change later. Or maybe not, who knows? But the important thing is to be open to whatever life puts in your path. You never know what will happen. I can tell you, when I was your age? I thought I would become a king and marry a noble girl or two that other people had decided were right for me. And look at me now. You never do know."

"Would they have really made you marry some lady you didn't want to marry?"

"Yes. That's how things were for the monarchs of the Earth Kingdom. I would have been expected to marry at least one noble girl. Most likely two of them."

Zhi sat up again. "How come two?"

Wu sighed. "Well, I didn't have any brothers or sisters or even cousins. There was only me. So it would have been very important for me to have many heirs. Children who could inherit, I mean. It used to be very common for the upper nobility and royalty to have more than one wife. It's not so common any longer, but it still happens."

"So you couldn't have married Daddy?"

"No. I could have kept Daddy with me. To live with me, I mean. But I couldn't have married him."

"That's not fair!"

"No, it really isn't. Which is part of why I gave up the crown. Oh, don't mistake me, there were plenty of other reasons. More important reasons, too. But that was one of them." Wu smiled at Zhi. "You and your sisters may marry whomever you choose. Or you may choose never to marry. The point is that you will have your own free choice about it." Wu kissed his cheek. "But never mind all of that. Darling, what would you like to do? Do you want to go and look for your dragonfly? You can go and play in the water with Meili if you like."

Zhi looked down the beach to where the other children were playing kuai ball. "Maybe I could go watch that for awhile. The game, I mean."

Wu opened his mouth and then shut it again before nodding. "Of course. Why don't you run along, then?"

"Okay, Papa!" Zhi swung himself off of the deck chair and ran down the beach without looking back. Wu watched as he approached the court; the same boy waved at him and halted the game play for a moment to run up and speak to him. Now that Wu was looking closely he could see that the players were unmatched; the other side had four children, but that side had only three. Wu found himself holding his breath. Zhi so often struggled with being social, was often so awkward with other children and Wu didn't think he could bear it if Zhi came back down the beach, rejected and heartbroken yet once again. _Just stay here with me_ , he had wanted to say to him, but he had stopped himself just in time. How else could Zhi learn? But Wu knew how tender his boy's heart was and he couldn't stop himself from being anxious. _Let him play_ , he willed at the other boy. _Just please let him play._

The boy motioned to Zhi and Zhi stepped into the court. He held the ball and spoke to Zhi; the other children joined in, including the ones from across the net. The boy tossed the ball into the air and another girl kicked it high, arcing it across the net. Another child ran for it and caught it, tossing it back over. Some more conversation and then the ball went up into the air again and Zhi crouched down, preparing to kick. Wu held his breath. _Kick it! Kick it!_  

Zhi's long leg pistoned into the air and his foot slammed into the ball, sending it flying over the net. Wu's eyes widened in surprise. That was a firebender's kick if Wu had ever seen one. The other children cheered and one of them pounded Zhi on the back. There was more pointing and then all of the children resumed their positions. The ball went several times back and forth; it headed towards Zhi and he kicked it but the ball went wild. The boy patted Zhi on his shoulder; the girl on his team patted him as well and the game play started up again. Back and forth the ball went, and Wu found he was clenching his hands so tightly that he was leaving fingernail marks in his palms. Back to Zhi the ball went; up went Zhi's foot and the ball spun its way across the net, one of the girls on the other team hitting the sand as she missed it. The children on Zhi's team cheered again and Zhi turned around to see if Wu was watching, his face beaming. Wu lifted his hand for a thumbs up; Zhi flashed one back and then turned back to the game.

"Oh, that's my beautiful boy," Wu murmured, and he fished in his bag for a clean hankie.


	11. An Enthusiastic Scholar: A Decision About Zhi's Schooling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A late night discussion about Zhi's schooling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By special request of eeveedoll, who wanted to find out whether or not Zhi was going to go to school.

"No, darling, not Uncle Wu's spectacles," Wu said to his very small niece, gently guiding pudgy grasping fingers away from his lenses.  "Take this instead." He handed her a silver baby rattle. Pearl promptly threw it to the floor.

"She doesn't seem very impressed," said Qi.

"Story of my life," Wu replied, patiently removing another hand from his ear.  "Although I'd like to meet the person who could keep a Beifong woman from what she wanted."

"Hand her back over," Qi said. "I don't have anything breakable."  Qi retrieved the rattle and the baby as well, sitting back down. Pearl stood and balanced carefully on Qi's lap, sturdy thighs wobbling slightly as she slid a bit on the silk of Qi's dressing gown, Qi's hands wrapped securely around her waist. She stared at Qi before leaning over and gumming at Qi's nose. 

"Better you than me," Wu said. "Although she'd certainly have more to chew on if it were _my_ appendage." Wu stretched a little and yawned. "What do you think our chances are that she'll go back to sleep?"

"Why sleep when she can slobber on Qi's nose?" That was Mako, hair tousled, wandering into Qi's sitting room in his shorts.  "What are you doing up here?" That last was directed towards his husband.

"Oh, I couldn't sleep. I came up to do some work, I figured I might as well."

"Did she wake you?" Qi gently removed the baby's mouth. "I was hoping she wouldn't."

Mako shook his head. "No, I came looking for Wu. She fussing?"

Qi nodded. "Little bit."

"We could keep her in our room, you know."

"You're the one who has to work. She's okay up here with me. I can always take a nap tomorrow if I need one." 

"Well, at least Bu went to sleep tonight without crying for his mother. That's a step up." Wu yawned again.

"You should head on back to bed. The both of you. Miss Pearl and I can keep each other company without you." Qi planted a kiss on the baby's round cheek.

"Are you having a grownup party up here?" Zhi was peering around the door. Mako held out an arm and Zhi ran lightly across the floor into it, getting scooped up to Mako's chest. He wrapped his legs around his father's waist.

"What are you doing up? Is Bu crying?" Mako brought his other arm around him.

"No, Daddy. Everybody else is sleeping, I think. I couldn't sleep, though, and I heard some noise up here so I came up to investigate."

"You couldn't sleep?" Wu raised an eyebrow.

"I just couldn't shut my brain off. No matter how hard I tried."

"Ah. Well, I know how that goes." Wu smiled at him. "Anything in particular?"

Zhi frowned. "Well..." He bit his lip.

Mako squeezed him gently. "Go on, spit it out. Otherwise you'll never get to sleep."

"It's just...Daddy, were you happy that San showed you how he could bend the metal today?"

Mako blinked. "Of course I was. He's been working hard at it with Wei. It'll be a nice surprise for Uncle Bo when he and Opal get home."

"And you were really happy when Naoki used her fire to fly across the whole park last week?" 

Mako grimaced. "Well, mostly I wanted to ground her for the next ten years for disobeying me about it."

"But you were proud of her though, right? Because flying long distances with flame is hard to do?"

Mako raised a hand to smooth back Zhi's hair. "Yes, it's hard to do. I'm proud of the accomplishment, even if I'm not thrilled she actually did it."

"And Meili can make water into ice and back again quick as anything now and that's good, right?"

Mako stared down at his son. "Zhi, what's this all about?"

Zhi's eyes filled up with tears. "I can't do any of those things, Daddy. I don't do anything that makes you proud. I'm not a bender like everybody else."

Mako' jaw dropped. "Zhi! Hey, now! No! I...no! That's not...I mean..."

"Oh darling!" Wu stood up and came to put his hand to Zhi's back. "Darling! Do you really think we somehow aren't proud of you because you aren't a bender?"

Zhi sobbed. "I know you are, Papa, because you aren't a bender either and Qi always listens to me talk about my specimens, but Daddy..." One sob turned into many. Mako looked at Wu in consternation. Wu gestured to Zhi with a wide-eyed look.

"Zhi...honey...of course I'm proud of you," Mako started, but fell silent when Zhi sobbed even harder.

"You're just saying it now to make me feeeeeeeeeeeeel better!"

Pearl scrunched up her face and without warning added her own wails to the fray. Qi quickly stood up and closed the door from the sitting room to the landing, still holding Pearl. "Okay now, hush now, baby. Shhhh shhhhh shhhhh." Qi jiggled her on one hip.

Mako sat down in one of Qi's armchairs, Zhi in his lap. "Zhi, I'm not just saying it. I really am proud of you. You are the smartest kid I know. Smart like your father, too, you know so much about everything."

Zhi pulled his tear-stained face out of Mako's chest. "But Daddy, I heard you tell Papa that I had to toughen up, that if I don't the other kids at school will beat the shit out of me." He quickly turned his head to Wu. "I'm sorry I said that bad word, Papa, but it's the one Daddy said. I was only quoting." His little face was very earnest.

"I know that, darling. It's all right."

Zhi turned back to Mako. "Daddy, I don't want to toughen up. I don't even know how to do that. I don't like to fight with people. I know Naoki likes to," this got a little snort out of Qi, who was now walking in circles around the floor, jogging Pearl up and down, "but it makes me feel awful." His lower lip quivered. "I know the other kids don't like me, Daddy. They tell me all the time, for one thing, and for another, they never want to play with me. Naoki makes them, and San too, when he comes over, but they don't really want to." He thrust his chin out. "And don't even tell me that they do, Daddy, because I'm a fairly perspicacious person, you know."

"Zhi, I'm sure that-" Mako started, but Zhi cut him off.

"No, Daddy! Don't talk to me like that! Don't stop listening to me! I'm trying to tell you something!"

Mako hugged Zhi. "I'm sorry."

"Daddy, I know you want me to go to that school next month. But Daddy, I'm not like Naoki. Not everybody likes Naoki, but nobody will pick a fight with her because they know she will annihilate them."

"Truer words," murmured Qi. Pearl, finally quieted down, was resting against Qi's shoulder, her eyes wide.

"I'm not like San either. Everybody likes San. Everybody is San's friend. And who couldn't like Meili? Everybody loves her. But it's not like that for me, Daddy."

Mako smoothed back Zhi's hair.

"Even lots of grownups don't like me. They say I'm too big for my britches, or that I'm difficult. Madame Xifang from down the street told her friend when they were walking past me last week that I was a freak of nature."

Wu went still and his eyes flashed. "Oh _did_ she, now?"

"I try not to let it hurt my feelings, but it does. It hurts them a _substantial_ amount. And Daddy, I just can't be tough enough not to let it hurt. I wish I could." Here he started to sob again. "I really wish I could because sometimes it makes me so sad I just want to lay down and die."

Mako pulled him into his chest, hard, rocking him back and forth. "Zhi...I didn't know it hurt you so much. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"I don't want to disappoint you, Daddy! I just want you to be proud of me like you are of Naoki and Meili! And if you really want me to go to that school and toughen up I will try as best I can, but Daddy, I'm afraid I won't be any good at it and I will just make you sad and ashamed of me."

Mako swallowed, hard, before pulling Zhi away until he could look at him. He gently thumbed away the tears running down Zhi's cheeks. "I have never once been ashamed of you, Yaozhi." His voice was rough. "Never once. I am so sorry I made you feel that way. Sorrier than I think I've ever been for any other reason in my life. I love you. I've loved you ever since I first found you in that cardboard box and brought you home to your father. You are so damn smart. So smart. Smarter than me or your father or Qi all put together. And not just smart, but kind and compassionate and giving. You make me proud every single day, do you understand me?"

"Really, Daddy? Really and truly?" Zhi's little face was so hopeful that Wu's eyes filled up as well.

Mako pulled him close. "Really and truly. And Zhi, if you don't want to go to that school we'll figure something else out. Your father's been wanting to get you a tutor here at home anyhow."

Zhi turned to look at Wu. "You have, Papa?"

Wu went down to his knees next to Mako's chair and kissed Zhi. "Yes, darling. I think you might do very well that way. You could go at your own pace, learn what you were interested in. That's how I was taught, as I am sure you recall."

Zhi sat up. "Oh, Papa, truly? Could I study anything I wanted? Like how to make maps? Really good ones? Oh! And why clouds look different? I want to know why sometimes they look all fat and fluffy and why sometimes they look all flat and stretched out." His eyes went huge. "Oh _Papa_! Can I learn how to make _explosions_?"

"Er, yes. Well. Perhaps we'll save the explosions for later. And somewhere less residential. But yes, darling. You may study all of these things."

"Oh, Daddy! Is it true? Can I do it? You won't be angry or disappointed?"

Mako kissed his boy on both of his eyes. "I won't be angry or disappointed. I promise."

"Daddy, your whiskers are all scratchy."

Mako smiled. "Sorry about that, buddy." He held Zhi close for a few more moments, his own eyes closed. "You think maybe you could go back to sleep now?"

"Could I sleep with you and Papa tonight? I know I'm technically supposed to be too big but maybe just for this one time?"

"Yeah. It's okay." Mako stood up, his boy in his arms. "Come on, Wu. You need to sleep too. Is Pearl back down?"

Qi nodded once, gesturing chin first at the chubby toddler nearly asleep in Qi's embrace. "We're good. I'll change her diaper and hopefully that will do it."

"Good night, Qi," Zhi whispered from his perch in Mako's arms. "Sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite."

"If there are any bedbugs in my bed then I know who put them there," Qi said, and dropped Zhi a wink. "See you in the morning, kiddo." Qi waited for them to leave before shutting the door behind them. "Interesting times, baby girl," Qi said to Pearl and Qi put her back into her crib next to Qi's bed, quickly changing her diaper as her eyes drifted shut. "Never a dull moment." Qi sat for a time on the edge of the bed, watching over the baby as she slept.


	12. An Unexpected Question: San Asks His Parents About Sex

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> San asks his parents about sex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Written for a Tumblr prompt!](http://ourimpavidheroine.tumblr.com/post/142824888251/hi-im-a-big-fan-of-your-legend-of-korra-stories)

"I'm not sure what they're going to do about it. We were supposed to shoot there tomorrow, but not if it's full of mud." Bolin swayed back and forth rhythmically, a dozing Pearl in his arms. "I guess go back to the studio. Maybe? Or not."

"I thought you'd finished all of the indoor shots." Opal had out her knitting needles and was clicking away, a profusion of brightly colored yarn in a basket next to her.

"We did! So I don't know! You know Varrick, he'll either re-write the whole script or..." he trailed off as he saw a child hovering in the doorway. "Hey there, big guy! What's up?"

San took a step into the room and Opal raised her eyebrows at him, fingers still moving automatically. "Is something wrong?"

San shrugged and dug a bare toe into the floor, carefully not meeting his parents' eyes. Opal and Bolin exchanged a look. Opal took a hand away and patted the sofa cushion next to her. "Come on over and take a seat, sweetie. Watch my knitting."

"What are you making, Mommy?" San scrambled up next to her and peered at her needles.

"I'm making some mittens for your Uncle Wu to give out to the children in the park. It's starting to get cold out."  She leaned over and kissed the top of San's head. "So do you want to tell Daddy and me what's bothering you?"

San shrugged again and stared at Opal's fingers, moving quickly, needles looping and pulling.

"Well, how about I go put Pearlie here to bed and then come back out and sit for awhile, how's that?" Bolin smiled down at him.

"Sure."

Bolin winked at Opal. "Be back in a swoop of a spiritbunny's wings, then." He walked out of the room and Opal kept knitting. There was no point in trying to push San into talking before he was ready; he could get balky about it and would refuse to speak at all. 

"What color stripe should I put in this one?" Opal asked, holding up half of a bright blue mitten.

San sorted through her yarn. "Put an orange stripe. And then maybe a yellow one?"

"Oh, very colorful. Good choice." She kept knitting while San silently and carefully sorted through her yarn.

"This green yarn is pretty, Mommy. It's the same color as your eyes."

"Well, that makes it the prettiest yarn in the whole wide world then, huh?" Bolin came back in and sat down on San's other side, opening his arms and hugging San tightly when he crawled right in. "Nobody prettier than Mommy, am I right or am I right?"

"You're right," said San, nodding his head enthusiastically. "Mommy is the kindest, too. And the smartest." Opal shot the both of them a look out of the corner of her eye, amused.

"So here we are, just Mommy and Daddy and San. Just hanging out. On the sofa. In our house." Bolin smiled happily. "Just taking it eeeeeeeasy. Easy going! Just us. Sitting around. Shootin' the breeze. Niiiiiiiiice and comfy."

San giggled. "Daddy, you're goofy."

"You know what's goofy? THIS!" Bolin grabbed San and yanked up his pajama top, planting a loud and wet raspberry on his belly. San wriggled and giggled.

Opal laughed. "Shhhhhh, you two! Before you wake up Bu and the baby!"

Bolin clapped a hand over his own mouth as well as San's. "Mommy's right," he said, in a very loud whisper around his own fingers. "We have to be quiet."

San quieted down and they sat for a moment, watching Opal work an orange stripe into the mitten.

"Naoki punched a boy after school today."

Opal raised an eyebrow. "You mean over at Uncle Wu's house?"

"Yeah, at the park. He said something to Naoki and she punched him right in the face. I don't know who he was, he was some different boy. Older boy. I never saw him before."

Opal frowned. "What did he say? Naoki's Naoki, but she doesn't usually punch people without provocation."

San stared at his toes. "Well. He said that Naoki was cute enough to fuck." He shot a quick glance at his mother. "That's a really bad word."

Bolin whistled. "Oh, Mako won't be happy to hear that." He grimaced.

"Naoki shouted at him and punched him in the face and kids were yelling and then Qi came over to see what was going on and when Qi heard what that boy said Qi grabbed him by the neck and put him into a headlock and said something into his ear. I couldn't hear it but the boy ran away really fast when Qi let him go. Qi said that if the boy came back ever we were supposed to go and get Qi right away. He was bigger than Qi but I think Qi really scared him."

Opal took a deep breath. "I can only imagine." She and Bolin exchanged another look over San's head.

"I asked Gen, one of the boys at the park, what fuck meant and he told me it means sex but I don't really know what that means either. So can I ask what it means?"

"Wow! Okay. So. Yeah. Hey. So I guess we can have this talk, sure. Because you're eight now and that's like almost halfway grown up." Bolin scratched at the back of his head. "I don't remember how old I was when I had this talk. Mako just told me," and here Bolin shifted his face and his tone of voice, sitting up very straight, "Don't get anyone pregnant, Bo, babies cost too much money." Bolin shrugged back into himself. "Well, you know how he is."

"Sex ed with Mako. Spirits," said Opal, rolling her eyes before smiling down at her son. "San, it's okay to ask. Granny talked to all of us about sex when we were old enough to ask questions about it. So what kind of questions do you have?"

"Naoki told me once that sex was what happens when two people want to make a baby. Like you and Daddy did for me and Bu and Pearl."

Opal nodded, needles still clacking. "That's right. People who want to make a baby have sex together."

"But Uncle Mako and Uncle Wu didn't do that."

"No. To actually make a baby there has to be a man and a woman. That's just how it works." Opal motioned with her needle. "Hand me the yellow yarn, would you?"

San handed it over. "Is that why Uncle Mako had to go and find babies?"

Bolin laughed. "Detective Mako, baby finder!"

Opal shot him a look, trying to fight back a smile. "That's why Uncle Mako and Uncle Wu adopted your cousins, yes. Between the two of them they couldn't make a baby."

"But Uncle Wing and Auntie Nuo could."

"I'll say," said Bolin. He opened his mouth to say more but desisted when Opal shot him a warning look.

"Yes, that's right. And Granny and Grampy made your uncles and me."

"Do people only have sex when they want to make a baby?"

Opal shook her head. "No. People have sex for lots of reasons. Making a baby is just one of those reasons. Plenty of people have sex who don't want to have a baby."

San thought about this for a moment. "How come?"

"Sex can feel really good when people are having it with other people that they like or love." Opal started with the yellow stripe.

"Does it feel good when you have sex with Daddy?" 

Opal smiled. "Yes, it does." Bolin turned an interesting shade of crimson. "Usually, though, people keep sex private. In their bedrooms, for example."

"But what do people do? When they have sex."

"Well, for example, when a man and a woman want to have a baby, a man puts his penis into her vagina. You know what those things are, you know what people's bodies look like."

"Uh huh."

"However, it really depends. Lots of people do lots of different things that feel good."

"Do Uncle Mako and Uncle Wu have sex?"

"Yes," said Opal, matter-of-factly.

"But they both have penises so that's why they can't make a baby?"

"Exactly right. Babies can only grow inside a woman. In her uterus, which is located near her stomach. You saw how Pearl grew inside me."

"So men can never have a baby grow inside?"

Opal shook her head. "Only women."

San turned to his father. "Did you ever wish you could have a baby grow inside, Daddy?"

Bolin's eyes filled up a little. "You know, I kind of do, big guy. Mommy clearly grows the best babies in the entire world, but I always wished I could feel what it feels like to have a baby inside." He leaned across San's head to kiss Opal on the cheek. Opal smiled back at him and then took her hand away from her knitting to tilt San's chin up gently.

"Listen. Fuck is a mean and nasty word for sex. That's why I don't want to hear you use it, okay? What that boy said to Naoki was rude and mean and he said it to make Naoki feel bad. I don't want to hear you using that word that way, do you understand me?"

San nodded. "Uh huh. I don't want Naoki to punch me in the face, either."

Opal fought back another smile. "No, I'm sure you don't. Sex is not a dirty or a bad thing, San. But it's only for people who want to do it. And it's not for children, either. It's a grown-up thing."

"Yeah, listen to Mommy. Sex should only ever happen when people want it to, when they say yes and mean it. That's really extra important. Only if everyone says yes. That way it feels good and nice."

"Like how good and nice?"

Bolin hugged his boy. "If it is with someone you really love, it's like candy and ice cream and school holidays and flying kites and birthday presents and firecrackers all at the same time." He looked over at his wife. "That's how it is with Mommy. Every single time."

"Oh, Bolin," said Opal, smiling at him and it was her turn to flush slightly pink.

"You really love Mommy, huh Daddy?"

"I really really super duper with mochi on top love Mommy. Mommy is the _best_. Someday I hope you find someone to love as much as I love your Mommy."

San sat for a time between his parents as his mother finished off a mitten and cast off the matching one. His father was uncharacteristically silent, his arm wrapped securely around his son.

"Are you going to have another baby, Mommy?"

"You mean right now? No, sweetie, I'm not pregnant."

"I mean later on. When Pearl is bigger."

"Ah. Well, you never know, I suppose. But probably not. Daddy and I stopped trying after Bu was born. Pearl was a little bit of a surprise."

"Nicest surprise I ever got," Bolin said, winking down at San.

"Was I a surprise?"

Bolin shook his head. "Nothing doing. Your Mommy and me decided that we loved each other so much and we were so happy that we'd try for a little baby and would you look at that? We got you! Good thing, too! What if someone else had snatched you up first? I'd have to march right over to their house and say, hey now! Listen up, there's been some kind of a mistake! You got our San and we need him back right away. Our family wouldn't work without our San!"

San grinned to himself, the gap where his right front tooth was still growing in making an appearance.

"Are those all the questions you have for tonight, sweetie? Or do you have more?" Opal smiled down at him.

"I guess that's all for tonight. But I can ask more later, right?"

Opal nodded. "Yes. Anytime you like. It's always okay to ask Daddy or me questions. About anything, okay?" She put her hand on his back and rubbed it.

"It's not like you're Zhi or anything. Whooo-wee! Can that kid ask questions!" Bolin threw his hands up into the air. "Yesterday he asked me why some nose hairs were long and some were short." Bolin made a face. "I don't actually know the answer to that question." He felt at his nose. "Although come to think of it I guess I should check and see if I need a trim or something."

"Zhi says that if he doesn't ask he'll never know. I guess I just don't want to know as many things as Zhi wants to know."

"Well, Zhi is Zhi. And you are you. Just as long as you know you don't _need_ to ask Naoki or even boys in the park. You can ask Daddy or me."

"Okay, Mommy. I guess I can go back to bed now. Except I'm thirsty."

"Hey! How you doin' there, Thirsty! I'm Daddy!" Bolin jumped off the sofa and gave an elaborate bow.

"Oh, Bolin," said Opal, sighing and shaking her head. "You just had to, didn't you?"

Bolin grabbed San up and threw him over his shoulder. "Hey Opal, would you look at that? I've got a wriggly wiggly sack of rice to carry around!" San giggled as his father bounced him up and down.

"Go get him a drink. But don't you dare wake up anyone up, you two!"

Bolin leaned over so that San could kiss his mother, upside down. "Good night, Mommy!"

"Good night, sweetie." Opal kissed him back. "See you in the morning." As they headed towards the kitchen, Opal smiled and took up the orange yarn to make another stripe.


	13. An Afternoon's Tea: Lady Boo-Boo's Birthday Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meili hosts a birthday party.
> 
> This story is especially for Ann, since Meili is her favorite.

Mako looked down at the invitation in his hand, smiling. It was written in Wu's very best calligraphy, in gold ink on cream parchment.

 

_Princess Meili Hou-Ting requests the pleasure of your company at a tea party given in honor of Lady Boo-Boo's birthday._

_Please bring fruit tarts._

 

Below that was a drawing of Lady Boo-Boo herself, complete with something festive around her which might have been stars. Or maybe flowers. Mako wasn't sure. They were pink and green, however. He tucked the invitation into the breast pocket of one of his nicer suits and knocked on Meili's bedroom door with the hand that wasn't carrying the white bakery box.

"You can come in now," said the voice from within.

Mako opened the door and stepped in, closing the door behind him as he bowed deeply. "Princess Meili," he said.

"Daddy," her Highness replied, and she bowed as well. She was dressed in her very best finery. There was a deep pink velvet cloche hat slipping down to cover her eyes, decorated with a spray of silk cherry blossoms and pearls; Mako remembered it from the days when Asami had worn it. She had at least seven or eight strings of beads in various colors and one blue and white necklace with dolphin piranha teeth on it that she had openly coveted from Korra. Her dress was a wine-colored silk blouse that he would lay yuan had been Asami's as well; her gray gloves were pulled nearly up to her elbows. She had on a pair of too large blue brocaded slippers that only had a few silver beads missing.

"You look very beautiful today, Princess," he said gravely.

She gave him a regal nod. "You look nice too, Daddy."

Mako looked at the head of the table where Lady Boo-Boo was sitting. Lady Boo-Boo had been rescued from the park across the street from the house; she was missing an arm and her hair was scant, at best. In front of Lady Boo-Boo was a small pile of packages. Mako reached into his pocket and pulled out a package wrapped in pale pink paper with a large silver bow. "Happy birthday, Lady Boo-Boo," he said, and added his package to the pile. 

"You may be seated down," said Meili, gesturing to an empty spot at the table, set between her battered plush Pabu and Queen Fancy, a lovely doll with a wig made of real hair and eyes that could open and close, a gift from Su and Baatar Beifong. Mako sat down on the floor, his legs crossed. He stared down at the table.

"Where are these from?" He picked up one of the tiny doll napkins. They were white, embroidered with a single pink and yellow peony.  There were placemats to match.

"Qi made them for Lady Boo-Boo's birthday." Meili smiled and pressed her own napkin to her cheek. "So pretty."

Mako returned her smile. "They are. Where would you like me to put the tarts, Princess?"

"You may give them to me. I am the hostess."

"Of course," he said, and handed her the box.

"Thank you very much," said the Princess, and she blew him a gracious kiss.  "Now first we can sing happy birthday to Lady Boo-Boo." She looked around the table with a frown. "Everybody has to sing. You too, Madame Flower." Madame Flower got a stern look. "She sometimes doesn't sing, Daddy, and it is very rude." Madame Flower stared back at Meili with eyebrows that had been painted into a look of perpetual surprise.

"Ah. Well, if she sings like your Papa maybe it's better she doesn't sing at all."

Meili turned her stern look to her father. "That is not how we speak at our table, Daddy," she said, echoing Wu. Mako fought back a smile. "Now you have to say sorry."

"I'm sorry, Madame Flower."

"Also to me. I am the hostess!"

"Sorry, Princess Meili."

"You are forgiven now," she said, and gave what could only be construed as a Beifong wave of her hand. "Now we sing." She launched into a birthday song, and Mako dutifully sang along. "Now you can give Lady Boo-Boo a nice kiss."

Mako was very glad that LoLo had thoroughly cleaned the doll before she was given back to Meili to play with. He leaned forward, across Queen Fancy, to gently kiss the dolly on her cheek.

"Hmmm," said Meili. "Should we open presents first or have our nice tea?"

"Up to you, Princess. You're the hostess."

Meili nodded. "Okay, then I want we open presents first." She leaned forward and took up one of the presents, a box with a yellow ribbon. "I have to help her open these."

Mako smiled. "Of course. It's the polite thing to do."

She handed the package to Mako. "But I need yours help to read it."

"It says,  _To Lady Boo-Boo from LoLo and Lin_."

Meili tore into the box, revealing a doll-sized teacup and saucer, painted with the same peony that had been embroidered onto the napkins and placemats.

"Oooooh," Meili breathed. "So pretty! Now she is a grown up dolly, she has her own cup!" Meili carefully set the tea cup in front of the doll. "Oh Daddy, look! She's very happy."

"Well, it's a really nice cup."

The rest of the packages were opened; a wee ruffled blue silk coverlet and matching pillow from Wu; a butterfly in a tiny frame from Zhi (with a note that the butterfly had died on its own; Meili usually cried to think of any butterflies being killed), a box of fancy wax candies from Naoki and a doll-sized bouquet of silk flowers from Opal and Pearl.

"Last we open up your present, Daddy."

"Okay."

Meili opened up the pink paper. "I save this silver ribbon, too."

"Good thinking."

Meili stared down at the box. "Oh, Daddy. Daddy! Is that really for Lady Boo-Boo?"

"Of course."

Meili pulled out the dress. It was yellow silk, decorated with white ribbons and seed pearls. There were matching white shoes and a single tiny white glove, as well as a lacy white and yellow hat that could be tied under her chin with a ribbon. One arm of the dress had been tied up with a little rosette.

"See? She has one glove, just like I do." Mako smiled.

Meili was staring at the dress. "Oh, Daddy. Poor Lady Boo-Boo feels sad sometimes because she doesn't have one arm and not so many hairs. But with this dress she will be the prettiest dolly of all. She needs to change right now. You are helping me?"

Mako helped her slide Lady Boo-Boo out of the dress she was wearing, carefully doing up the tiny pearl buttons in the back of the new dress. On went the shoes and the glove; Mako smoothed down her bits of hair and tied the ribbon of her hat under her chin.

"She's looking pretty, right?" Meili ran her fingers gently across the silk of the dress.

"Yeah, she is. Well. I thought maybe she needed something nice to wear."

Meili came around the table to throw her arms around her father. He hugged her tightly and kissed her, pushing her hat back a bit. "Me and Lady Boo-Boo say thank you, Daddy."

"You and Lady Boo-Boo are welcome."

"Okay, and now we have our nice tea. You can help?"

Mako fished his pocketknife out and cut the string on the bakery box. Inside were nestled two regular sized fruit and cream tarts; alongside them were enough petite tarts to feed all of the dollies and then some. Mako helped Meili place tarts on all of the appropriate plates.

"No eating nobody else's tarts, Pabu!" Meili scolded. "Only eat yours."

Mako reached over and gave Pabu a gentle squeeze and it gave a faint squeak.

"Now I pour us a nice tea," Meili said, taking up her tea pot. She poured into all of the separate cups. "Now we can eat it."

Mako took up his own tart and took a bite. "This is a nice party, Princess."

"Yes, I know," Meili replied. "I have only nice parties." She took a rather large bite of her own tart.

Mako smiled. "Just like your Papa." He took a sip of the tepid water in his cup. "Delicious tea."

"It's the best kind, naturally," she said, looking down her little nose. "Only nice tea at my parties."

"Sure," said Mako. 

They ate their tarts and then started on the dollies' tarts; their very own tradition. After they had finished them up (and Mako had used his own handkerchief to mop up an accidental spill on the part of Korrasami dolly, sitting next to Meili) Mako helped Meili clean up all of her tea things, putting the used dishes onto a tray to take down to the kitchen for washing. "I'll just take these down to the kitchen and bring them back when they're clean, okay?"

"Yes, thank you for your nice, Daddy."

"You're welcome."

"And thank you for being a good boy. I shall invite you next time." 

Mako bowed over the tray. "I look forward to your invitation, Princess."

"You may give me a nice kiss before you leave, okay?"

Mako put down the tray and gathered her up into his arms, hugging her and kissing her all over as she giggled, her hat tumbling to the floor. "I'll see you at dinner, Baby."

"Yes, okay, Daddy. Now I have to put the dollies to a nap, it was a big party."

"Good idea." He took up the tray again and Meili opened her bedroom door, blowing him several kisses before she shut the door behind him. Smiling, he took the tea things down to the kitchen.


	14. A Delicious Awakening: Opal Gets Breakfast In Bed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Opal gets a Mother's Day surprise.
> 
> Nothing here but the fluffiest of fluff, people. FLUFFTASTIC!
> 
> Happy Mother's Day to all of the other mothers out there!

Opal lay for a moment, her eyes barely open in the curtained gloom of her bedroom, taking stock. Husband? Missing. Infant? Missing. She could hear voices, however, so she stayed in bed, trying to listen.

"Daddy, I picked the flowers!" That was Norbu, hushed voice full of excitement. "Here they are!"

"Okay, buddy, they are really pretty. Wow! Just put them here in the vase. How's the juice looking?" Bolin. She smiled to herself. The man couldn't whisper to save his life. No matter how quiet he tried be, he still projected across half the house.

"I think maybe there's a seed in there," said San, a little doubt creeping into his voice. "I tried to get it but it kept slipping out of my fingers. Do you think Mommy will mind?"

"Not a chance! Mommy never minds that kind of thing!" She didn't have to see her husband to know he was giving San a big grin, possibly even tousling his hair. "Besides, if Mommy swallows it she could grow an orange tree in her tummy!"

Giggles burbled up, quickly hushed again.

"Who has the best Mommy?"

"We do!" the boys chorused together, and she couldn't stop herself from smiling.

"We sure do," said Bolin. "Bu, grab the hoisin sauce, would you? You know Mommy likes it in the morning."

She quickly dashed into the bathroom, knowing that if she didn't pee before they all came marching into the bedroom she'd spend a very uncomfortable breakfast. When she was done she got herself back into bed, snuggling into the covers, still listening.

"Do you think Mommy will like the cup?" San, sounding a little anxious, unusual for him.

"Are you kidding me? San! You made it with your own two hands. It's the best tea cup in Republic City! In the world! Mommy will love it! In fact, I have to tell you...I love it, too."

"It's kind of bumpy, though."

"Hey. Listen. You worked really hard on that cup. You made it and you painted it, right? And you did it because you wanted to give Mommy something special, true?"

"Uh huh."

"Then that makes it an extra special cup. Because Mommy, she could go to a shop and buy a super fancy cup that some stranger made, sure. But that stranger who made that cup, he wouldn't be thinking of Mommy and how much he loved her the entire time he was making it, right?"

"No..." San sounded unsure.

"So he'd be making a super fancy cup, you bet, because that's his job. But see, you made a _love_ cup. You thought about Mommy and how much you love her the whole time you were making it, right? Right. So every single time Mommy sees that cup or drinks from that cup she'll think, this cup means my son San loves me so much. And which do you think Mommy would rather have, huh? A super fancy cup or a love cup?"

"A love cup!" That was Bu.

"Exactly. Mommy would rather have a love cup any old day.  And San, it's a beautiful love cup. It's a love cup for the ages. Never was there ever a cup like this one."

A silence, then; "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too! And Bu! And Pearlie! Oh! Hey, Pearl! Don't chew on that spoon, Daddy needs it to stir with!"

"Don't forget Pabu, Daddy." Bu again.

"And Pabu. I love Pabu, too, that's just a given. Okay. Let's see. We've got Mommy's tea, and some juice, and her jook and her buns."

"And the flowers I picked!"

"And the _awesome_ flowers you picked."

"And the hoisin sauce! And the card I drew for Mommy!"

"That too, you awesome card maker, you. What else do we need?"

"A napkin?"

"Phew! Good thing you have good brains in your head, Bu. We sure do need a napkin. Okay, there. That's a fine looking breakfast for Mommy, what do you think?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay, I'll carry the tray. San, can you carry your sister?"

"Sure thing, Daddy."

"But what can I carry?"

"Well, we need someone to lead the parade, right? Bu, you and Pabu are in charge of leading the parade. It's a big job. Think you can do it?"

"I can! But Daddy, do I need a mustache? To lead the parade?"

"Of course! Wait a sec, wait a sec..." a silence, and then, "There you go. A mustache for a parade leader."

There were giggles again, this time not so muted.

"Okay! Bu, lead on! Here we go, to surprise Mommy!"

She immediately rolled over, pretending to sleep. She even added a few snores for verisimilitude. She tried very hard not to laugh. Once the procession had reached the bedroom (not without a lot of giggles and loudly whispered comments) she blinked open her eyes and stretched her arms, yawning widely before sitting up. "What's going on?"

"Happy Mother's Day!" the boys chorused together, Bu bouncing up and down, Pabu on his shoulders. They were both in their pajamas. 

She put her hands to her face. "Oh my goodness! You surprised me! I was sleeping!"

"We were really quiet, Mommy!" Bu's eyes were wide. Unless she was very much mistaken, he had a mustache drawn on with hoisin sauce above his lip. He kept darting out his tongue to catch the drips.

"You were _so_ quiet! I had no idea!"

San deposited Pearl onto the bed; she wriggled and scooched her way up towards her mother. "We made you breakfast!"

"I can see that! I am so lucky."

"Here, Mommy, we can help with the pillows," San came over and grabbed Bolin's pillows, putting them behind her as she got into a better position. "You get breakfast in bed because you are the best Mommy in Republic City."

"In the whole _world_ ," said Bu, licking at his mustache.

She met Bolin's eyes. He was smiling at her, that wide and happy smile, the smile that held no secrets, that told her exactly what his heart was feeling. The smile that she'd fallen for, all those years ago in Zaofu. He had an apron on over his shorts and nothing else. She resisted the urge to give his ass a squeeze. Later. 

"Happy Mother's Day," Bolin said, and he carefully put the tray on her lap. He kissed her temple and opened the curtains before sitting on the edge of the bed, causing both her and the tray to sag dangerously to one side. Both San and Bu crawled up on the bed as well, and Bolin took Pearl up into his lap.

"Oh my, look at this! Who picked these beautiful flowers?"

"Me! I did it, Mommy! From outside!" Bu was wriggling in joy. "And I drew the card too! See? It's Juicy and Pabu and a rainbow! And our whole family!"

"So it is. You drew this all on your own, Bu? I really like all of the bright colors you used. We have to show this to Uncle Huan the next time he comes to visit." It was actually quite good. "Here, let's put it somewhere safe where it won't get anything on it. I think I'd like to get a frame for it and put it on the wall." Bolin took it from her and stood up to place it on a dresser before sitting back down, the bed sagging again. Bu hugged himself and beamed joy. She picked up the tea cup from the tray. It was a lumpy thing, painted yellow and decorated with what she assumed was red and white flowers. "This is new. Where did this come from?"

San ducked his head. "I made it. At school." He picked at the coverlet.

She curled both hands around it. "You made this? For me?"

San nodded, not meeting her eyes.

She looked at the cup. In careful calligraphy, San had painted  _Mommy_ on one side. Her eyes filled up. "San, I can't believe you made this. It's wonderful. And I love it."

He looked up at her, his face earnest. He looked so much like his father - right down to the cowlicks on his head - that her tears brimmed over. "It's a love cup, Mommy. I made it with love."

She handed the cup to Bolin and put her hands on both sides of San's face. "I will treasure it always, San. Thank you so much."

"Well, Mommy better eat her breakfast, right? Because we have to give her her present from Pearl." Bolin was grinning. "Ta-da!" He took an envelope out of his apron pocket and handed it to Pearl, who promptly put it into her mouth. "Oh hey, don't chew on that, honey." Bolin removed it and handed it to her, slightly slobbery. She opened it and took out a sheet of paper, which informed her she had an entire spa day planned for her. She glanced up at Bolin, who winked at her. "The taxi will be here to pick you up in about an hour."

She laughed. "Was this your idea?"

Bolin laughed right back at her. "Mako's, actually. Believe it or not. I said I wasn't sure what to get you and he told me I couldn't go wrong with a spa day."

"Well thank you, Mako, then. And thank _you_ , sweetie. Thank you so much." She took a swallow of her tea and smiled at her family, sprawled across her bed. "Who is the luckiest Mommy in all of Republic City?" 

"You are!" chorused both of her boys, and her husband held the baby over for a very wet kiss.


	15. A Covert Operation: Spying On Papa's Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My Betareader asked me to do a story from Naoki's POV; she wanted to see the kids spying on some of Wu's important guests. Here's what I came up with for the prompt!

A head topped with a long, loose braid popped itself around the corner leading to the second floor landing in the west wing of the mansion. "Okay, we're clear," Naoki said quietly, motioning with her hand. She crept in a stealthy crouch, barefoot, until she reached the balustrade. Zhi followed her, commando-crawling in his pajamas across the floor, grunting a little with the effort.

"Ow! I think I got a big bruise!" 

"You did not!"

"On my knee!"

"Lemme see." Naoki yanked his pajama bottoms up over his knee, peering down in the dim light. "I don't see anything."

Meili walked across the landing, curls tied up in scarf, her pale blue satin robe flowing behind her, embroidered slippers on her feet.

"Meili! They'll see you! Get down on the floor!" Naoki hissed, scowling. Her sister shot her a disdainful look worthy of generations of Hou-Tings.

"No, I won't. It's a dirty floor." Meili sniffed before sitting down gracefully and arranging her pretty nightgown to its best showing.

"I don't think it's dirty, Papa had maids here all week." Zhi was probing at his knee. "It's right here, see?" He grabbed Noaki's hand and put it on his knee. 

"Well, I'll look at it later, it's too dark."

"That's an ugly dress," Meili said, peeping down through the carved marble ballusters at a matron who had just entered the grand salon, escorted in by a man in a formidable suit. "She looks like a rooster pigeon."

Naoki put her hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles. Trust Meili to say it. Meili could say anything she wanted. Adults just laughed at her like she was the most adorable thing whenever she said something rude. If _she_ had said someone had looked like a rooster pigeon Papa would have let her have it. Papa took good manners _very_ seriously. _I will ask you to recall that you are, in fact, a_ princess _, young lady,_  he'd say, raising his eyebrows and giving her the look that meant she was in for it. Nope. Papa was a lot of fun and sometimes silly and loved to laugh but he had no sense of humor at all when it came to _proper comportment_.

Usually when Papa had his parties they went to stay on the Island with Pema and Tenzin. And Kya now too, since she was living there. It was always fun. Pema was so nice and Kya told great stories and Tenzin always let them play with the wind gates. He made them go very gently and slowly for Meili and Zhi, but he made Naoki actually train with them. Tenzin told her that Firelord Zuko had trained with them as well once upon a time and they had improved his firebending and that was enough for her, oh yes it was. The gates made her move differently than what she was used to, for sure. Rohan always came as well, and he helped too, showing her how to turn her body a different way or how to spin quickly. It was easy for Rohan, though, because he could use air to help propel himself through. She couldn't use any flame in it, of course; way too dangerous and the gates were old, anyhow. She was always careful with them. She thought she might be able to just use heat to help propel her but she hadn't quite worked out how to produce heat without any flame yet. She'd asked Zhi to help her and he had been pulling books out of their library and reading up on ways to make heat without fire. _You could do it with lightning_ , he had told her the other day, but that wouldn't work in the air gates any better than flame would and besides, Daddy would flat out _murder her dead_ if she used lightning. She didn't even want to _think_ what Daddy would do if she bent lightning without him. He let her do lots and lots of stuff with fire that would probably give Papa one of his little hissy fits if he knew about it but he had _forbade_ her to use lightning unless he was there. She'd asked him why, once, and he looked her right in the eyes and rolled up his sleeve and took off his glove to show her his scars and then told her he'd seen a man lose control of his own lightning once and that it rebounded and cooked him right then and there. _Did_ you _ever kill someone with lightning, Daddy?_ she'd asked, not expecting him to answer. _Yes I did, Naoki,_ he said, and when he called her Naoki she knew he meant business. She asked Lin about it later and Lin told her that it was true and that when Daddy was ready to tell her about it he would. _And don't think I don't know about all the little stunts you're pulling over in the park when you think no one's looking,_ Lin said. _But you mind your father on this one. You hear me?_

She got the message, loud and clear. But that didn't mean she couldn't see if she could figure out how to make heat without flame or lightning, though. Zhi had found a book that told how you could store heat you could get from sunlight and he was taking notes for her. He was also going to ask his tutor about it. Zhi's tutor answered all of Zhi's questions and this was a big deal because Zhi could ask more questions than anyone in the whole world, probably. Although when Zhi had asked his tutor if people had sex the same way that he'd seen the poodle monkey from next door doing it she marched him to the kitchen, handed him over to LoLo, and said that Prince Wu wasn't paying her quite enough for _that_ question. LoLo had laughed so hard he cried. 

Zhi was actually pretty awesome for a little brother. Not that she was going to tell him that or anything.

They were all looking forward to going to the Island but Pema had called that morning, so sorry, telling that there was a terrible stomach flu making its way around the Island and that everyone was throwing up and worse. Then Uncle Bo called and said that Auntie Opal and Bu had it too and that meant that not only were Uncle Bo and Auntie Opal not coming to the party but they couldn't even stay with the cousins, either. So all the grownups decided that they could stay upstairs in their bedrooms. Papa had given them a long lecture about staying in the east wing and Daddy promised he would bring them treats (Daddy always saved them treats from all of the parties he and Papa went to, Daddy was the _best_ ) and of course they had promised they wouldn't go into the west wing but she and Zhi had crossed their fingers behind their backs so it didn't count. She'd told Meili that she hadn't crossed her fingers and that meant that she had lied to Papa but Meili just shrugged and said, _I'm too little to get in trouble._

Naoki, herself, had _never_ been too little to get in trouble. But it always worked for Meili. Meili was so pretty and sweet and everyone liked her. Sometimes it made her feel really bad. She loved Meili - she loved Meili a lot - but she knew she was never going to grow up to be beautiful like Meili. Everyone who knew Yumi's sister said Meili looked just like her and Kya had once brought a photograph of all of her apprentices and Yumi's sister was in it and she was really really _really_ beautiful. She asked Yumi about it the next time she went to the dojo to train and Yumi had just laughed and laughed. _I guess I just got hit with the ugly stick, kiddo,_ Yumi had said when she finally stopped laughing. Naoki didn't actually think Yumi was ugly, but she didn't look like her sister, that's for sure.

The rooster pigeon lady and her stuck-up looking husband went inside the ballroom. They couldn't see very much into the ballroom itself; just the first part past the big open double doors. But she could hear the orchestra Papa had hired playing. Soft music, she didn't think anyone was dancing yet. The ballroom was very beautiful, with a white marble floor and crystal chandeliers and gold curtains. Lin had told that when she and Granny Su were little girls they used to bend in there. Now there were tables with flowers and fancy food that came in trucks and people helping out that Papa paid just for his parties and everything sparkled and gleamed. Usually this part of the house was kept quiet; the family stayed in the east wing and they weren't allowed to come over here and play. But when Papa threw his parties this whole wing - the wing that had the ballroom and the very fancy dining room with the table that went on forever and ever and the formal receiving room where Papa met with important guests and the bathrooms that would show every single fingerprint if you touched anything in them - was always busy being cleaned and getting even fancier. 

"Ooooh," Meili said. "She looks like moonlight!" She was pointing at a woman who had walked in, her dress a silvery white color, her hair done in high swoops. "I want Papa to get me a dress like that." Meili hugged her knees and sighed. Meili would look beautiful in a dress like that. If Naoki dressed like that everyone would laugh at her. And anyway, she couldn't let her arms show, not like that lady, because her arms usually had bruises on them from training. 

She had asked Sozui, the last time he was visiting, if he thought she was pretty and he told her that she was the best bender he'd ever seen and she might only be eleven but she knew what that meant, that meant no, no way, you aren't pretty at all, and she told him she'd kick his ass for sure and pretended like she didn't care but later, that night, she hid in the pavilion in the backyard and cried and cried until Qi came and found her and said, _You want to tell me what's making you spring a leak?_  and she said, _Nobody thinks I'm pretty, not like Meili is_ , and Qi took her face into Qi's hands and said, _Naoki, you aren't pretty like Meili, that's true. But when you grow up you are going to be a striking woman that will make people turn around and notice, it's all in the bones, see?_ And Qi ran Qi's thumbs down her cheekbones and smiled. And she kept crying and said, _But I want to be pretty sometimes,_ and Qi said, _I want to be pretty sometimes, too, Butterfly, I know it hurts_ , and then Qi hugged her and just sat with her until all her crying was out of her. Sometimes now she looked in the mirror and examined the bones in her face. She didn't see anything worth looking at, but Qi never lied to her, not ever, not even when the truth hurt, so if Qi said that she was going to be striking when she grew up then she'd just have to believe Qi. Even if she wasn't sure what striking meant.

"There's the president!" Zhi said. "I don't think Daddy likes her very much. He says she has her head up her bum, only he didn't say bum, he said the bad word. I don't see how that's possible but I guess it's an idiom." He started to giggle. "You'd have to be pretty bendy to put your head up your own bum."

Naoki started to giggle as well. "And it would smell really gross."

"Then she's a poopyhead," said Meili, and then all three of them were giggling.

"President Poopyhead," said Zhi, and he toppled over, trying to muffle his laughter into the sleeve of his pajamas.

"Shh! They'll hear us!" Naoki said, but she was giggling pretty hard too. She kept trying to stop, but then she'd make eye contact with Zhi and Meili and start all over again.

"This doesn't look like bed to me," said a soft voice behind them, and all three of them jumped and looked guiltily back at Qi, who was standing there, hands on Qi's hips, giving them Qi's look that meant _you are so busted now_. "In fact, it looks to me like some kids exactly where they promised their father they wouldn't be."

"Aw, Qi," said Zhi. "Don't be mad."

"I just wanted to see the pretty dresses." Meili made big cute eyes at Qi. Usually this worked, but tonight Qi just raised one eyebrow back at Meili.

"Uh huh," said Qi. Qi looked really nice, wearing a sort of white dress and pants all together thing, with a flower in Qi's hair. Naoki hadn't ever seen Qi dress like that before. 

"Do you have knives in that?" she asked, trying to see under the fluttering sleeves.

"Your Papa's in there. I've got my knives," Qi said, and moved a sleeve so Naoki could see the tip of one of Qi's knives.

"But Qi, how did you know we'd be here?" Zhi was scrunching up his nose a little bit like he always did when he was trying to figure things out.

Qi snorted. "I had my suspicions. Next time you cross your fingers behind your back make sure someone isn't behind you." Qi sighed. "Anybody see you up here?"

"Nope. We were quiet and stayed out of the way," Naoki answered. "Please let us stay a little! I promise we won't make any noise or let anyone see us! We'll be quiet, right?" Zhi and Meili nodded and Zhi held out his hands in front of him.

"I promise, no take backs!"

"Dancing music!" breathed Meili, and they all listened. The orchestra had started playing a waltz, the sound of it echoing through the west wing.

"Yeah, they'll play waltzes and slow music like that now. The better music will come later, after folks have listened to your Papa talk and the older ones have gone home." Qi pointed a finger. "But you three will be in bed long before that. And mind, you keep quiet tomorrow morning. It'll be a late night. We'll all want to sleep in."

"LoLo said he'd leave us breakfast in the icebox," Zhi said. 

Meili stood up and swirled, patting down her nightgown and matching robe. She held out her arms to Qi. "You may dance with me now," she said and Qi grinned.

"Yes, Princess," Qi said, and bowed. Qi pulled Meili up to Qi's hip and started to waltz her around the landing.

"I spy, with my little eye, three kids who are supposed to be in bed," said Daddy, and there he was, looking so handsome in his suit, standing on the landing. 

"Daddy! How did you _know?_ " Zhi asked, his mouth dropping open. Daddy just held up his crossed fingers.

"Your father might not know what that means, but I do." He had a plate in his other hand and as he walked across to them, Naoki saw it was covered with a napkin. "Here. Take your treats and then go on back to bed. You can eat them there. All the guests are in the ballroom, so there won't be anything to see from up here anyhow. Later on some of the people might get a little drunk and I don't want you kids around that. Okay?"

"Okay, Daddy," Zhi said. Daddy handed him the plate carefully. 

"I'll check in on you in a little while, make sure you're settled in. You're all going to sleep in Butterfly's room, right?" All three of them nodded. "Okay," Daddy said, and he leaned down to kiss Zhi's forehead.

Naoki stood up and swirled in her own circle. She might have just regular pajamas and bruises and a bandaged shin where she'd slammed it into a brick wall when practicing flipping backwards yesterday, but she thought the music was nice, too. Daddy took her hands and smiled at her, moving her into position and waltzing with her. Daddy always made dancing look so easy, all you had to do was follow where he led. He took his hand away from her waist for a moment to tuck a loose piece of hair behind her ear. "Maybe someday you won't want to dance with your old Daddy anymore," he said, his eyes a little bit sad, but she shook her head so hard that her braid flew out behind her.

"No, Daddy! Never! I'll always want to dance with you!" She would, too. She loved her Daddy, so much. He smiled at her and kissed her cheek.

"Good," he said. "Okay, you three. Bedtime, now. And you stay in our part of the house. Do I make myself clear? I had better go before your father comes looking for me. If he finds you here he'll blow his stack." All three of them nodded. They knew Papa would be very angry - really angry, not pretend angry like Qi - if he found them there.

"You want me to walk them on over?" Qi asked. Daddy thought for a minute, and then nodded.

"Would you?"

"Yeah. I'll make sure we don't have any stragglers over there as well." Daddy and Qi exchanged a look that Naoki didn't quite understand. "Don't fret, Mako. You make sure he's got what he needs. I'll keep an eye out for the rest."

Daddy sighed. "I know, I know. I'm probably worrying too much. I just wish they were out of the house, that's all."

Qi walked over and put Qi's hand on Daddy's shoulder, Meili still on Qi's hip. "Leave it to me." Daddy nodded, and then Qi took Qi's hand away and gestured. "Come on, you three. Say goodnight and let's scoot." Qi took the plate of treats from Zhi's hand and winked at Zhi.

They all hugged Daddy - Meili hugged him from Qi's hip - and then Qi started walking down the long hallway that connected the two wings of the house. Meili yawned and rested her head on Qi's shoulder.

The music followed them as they made their way back to the part of the house that was home and Zhi slid his hand into Naoki's. He smiled over at her, and she squeezed his hand, hard.


	16. An Aqueous Adventure: A Day At The Water Park

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A day at the new Water Park in Republic City. Done per a request prompt on Tumblr.
> 
> This takes place about two to three weeks before [I Do Not Ask the Night for Explanations](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5744101/chapters/13236343) begins.

"Naoki, don't run! It's slippery! Did you hear me! Don't...and there she goes." Mako scowled as his eldest slid on the wet tiles, arms pinwheeling as her feet went out from under her and she slammed down, hard.

"You live and you learn," said Lin, raising one eyebrow. "Looks like nothing's broken, anyhow." She watched as Naoki pulled herself up, rubbing at her bottom before waving happily and taking off for the stairs towards the tallest water slide, pace a little slower than before. "Come on, LoLo. Bar is over there. Drinks are on Wu today."

"If having a few drinks is what's going to get you to go down one of those slides, old girl, then lead on." LoLo winked at her, and then wrapped an arm around her waist to lead her into the direction of the refreshment area.

"This is the spot, right here," Wu said, pointing at a deck chair. "Plenty of shade and I can see all of the action. Mako, my love, will you adjust the umbrellas?" He smiled as he surveyed the brand new Republic City Water Park. It had only opened the month before; the latest brainchild of Varrick's Global Industries. It had several swimming pools, two large steam rooms, hot tubs and a refreshment area as well as water slides that led into pools. There were even beach areas that had been stocked with imported sand where park-goers could play kuai ball or lay out towels to sunbathe. It was staffed with waterbenders. The children had been begging to go, but Wu knew what it was like to try and go anywhere with Bolin. Between the autograph seekers and the photographers Bolin rarely enjoyed himself in outings with the children. Not to mention that taking Wei or Korra along anywhere usually ended the same way. Thus, he'd rented out the entire park for the day. Family and friends only. No lines, no paparazzi, no autographs. Sometimes, Wu reflected, it was good to be rich. 

He had just settled himself into the chair when a harassed-looking security guard jogged over, already perspiring in the muggy heat. "Is there a problem?"

"I'm sorry, Prince Wu," the man said. "There was this woman who came to the gates with her family. I tried to tell her this was a private event but she just..." the guard swallowed, looking furtively about before leaning in to Wu, "...she just moved right past me to the changing rooms. I don't know, sir. She was...terrifying, sir. Tiny but terrifying. She made my innards freeze, I can't explain it. I promise I'll get her out, but I'm going to need back up."

Wu clapped his hands. "Oh, Nuo is here! Excellent!" He gave the guard his very best smile. "Never mind, then. She actually does have an invitation. Ah, there she is." He beamed fondly at the Zaofu Beifongs as they made their way through the park. Wing was loaded up with multiple bags distributed over both shoulders, pushing a pram. Nuo was herding along her three eldest daughters as well as her in-laws.

"There's Wu, whoosh whoosh now everyone!" Despite the fact that she was wearing a pink skirted bathing suit, sandals, and an enormous floppy hat, Nuo still bore down on the park like her very own encroaching army.

"Terrifying," whispered the guard before making himself scarce.

"Darling!" Wu cried, and jumped up to give her a kiss on both cheeks once she'd reached them. Wing quickly slung the bags down.

"Is this where you want to park it?" 

"Yes, this is... _Rose Beifong!_ Don't you even think about getting in that pool! You can't swim yet!" Nuo was pointing at Rose, who was single-mindedly lowering herself into a deep pool.

"I'm on it," Wing said, and ran off to rescue his daughter.

"Where do you want everything?" Mako asked. At Nuo's direction he moved bags and umbrellas until he had everything situated to her liking. Nuo settled herself into the deck chair next to Wu and smiled fondly at Mako as he took the baby, Poppy, out of her pram to coo at her. He walked over with the baby to talk to Wing, who had Rose on his hip.

"Oh, Wu. Can't you give him another one? Look how happy he is when he has a baby." Nuo dug into her bag and pulled out a large fan and promptly began to fan herself.

"And where am I supposed to get a baby to give him, hmmm?" Wu reached into his own bag and pulled out his own fan. It had koi on it. Wu was very fond of it indeed.

"I'm certain you could figure it out if you put your mind to it. You usually do." Nuo turned her dark gaze after her in-laws. "Ah good, Su and Baatar found the bar. Now, where is Wei?"

Wu pointed with his fan. "Up there with Qi." Wei and Qi were standing at the very top of the highest water slide, getting themselves situated on a two-person raft. Naoki was bouncing up and down behind them, Prince Sozui hovering behind her.

"You didn't tell me you had the prince visiting!"

"Oh darling, it slipped my mind completely. Forgive me, you know what planning that Spring Festival does to me every year. You know we're going to the Fire Nation next month for his sister's investiture?" At Nuo's nod he continued. "Well, Izumi asked if we wouldn't mind getting him out of her hair until then. Well, not that she put it _that_ way of course. This is Izumi we're talking about. Iroh brought him. Truthfully, I don't mind having him. He really is a nice boy. It does my own brood some good to see some actual court manners in action, at that."

"So he'll travel with you? Ah! There's Bolin and Opal!" Nuo waved with her fan. Bolin and the boys were already running, whooping, for the nearest pool. Bolin's cannonball - done while he screamed _Incoming_  -  sent up water in an enormous plume, garnering a yell from Asami, who was trying to hold some papers out of the way.

"I told you not to bring any work!" Korra shouted at her as she did a flashy backflip off of the high dive.

"Hi you two," Opal said as she came up, pushing baby Pearl in her own pram. Her fuzzy head with its new tattoo was covered up from the sun with a brightly colored scarf. "It's so good to see you, Nuo. I'm glad you all could make it. How long are you staying, again?"

"Through the week," Nuo said. "Su has some business here and she's taking Wing along with her. You know how she is, work work work. So much for a vacation." She rolled her eyes and Opal rolled her own back with a smile. "The girls chattered on and on about their cousins the entire ride here, they were so exited."

"The boys were excited as well." Opal's eyes kept drifting over to watch her boys splashing around with Zhi in the big pool. Nuo smiled at her.

"Oh, go on and get in the water, I can see you want to. Leave Pearl here with Wu and me."

"Are you sure?" Opal said. She was watching Bolin, who was climbing the stairs behind Korra to the high dive.

"All we're going to do is sit right here in the shade and gossip. She's perfectly fine with us. Go on now. If we need you we'll find you." Opal moved the sleeping Pearl's pram further under the umbrella and then bent herself into the air for her own dive into the pool, splashing down next to a delighted San and Zhi.

"Wu, do you know where Naoki and Sozui are?" That was Rohan, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Jinora and Kai were coming from the changing rooms, followed by Pema and Kya.

"Up at the big slide there, last I checked. Where's your father?"

Rohan looked back. "He's still in the changing room. He doesn't like the swimming suit my mother bought him. He said it was a travesty of good fabric. Oh! There they are!" Rohan waved and ran off.

"I think that's everyone. Well, except for Yumi, but she said she'd be running a little late, so." Wu peeked into Pearl's pram before settling himself back down and fanning himself lazily.

Nuo fanned as well. "Really, Wu. Look at him." Mako had Poppy up on his bare shoulder, shielding her head from the sun with his hand.

"Oh, Nuo! Leave off! Go put your nose into someone else's business. Go and bother Wei to get married or something."

Nuo snorted at this. "Right." She sighed. "Oh, Wu, it's gotten worse, hasn't it? The partying, I mean."

Wu stared at Wei, who had made it to the bottom of the slide and was lunging around the pool, trying to grab Qi in order to dunk Qi under the water. "It's worse, yes. Qi is worried. Enough to bring it up with Mako and me." Wu looked at Nuo over his fan. "If Qi's worried, then there's something to worry about. You know how Qi is. Nerves of utter steel."

Nuo sighed. "You know if I try to bring it up with his mother she'll just brush it off. I love Su, you know I do, but no one can say a word to her about her children."

"I wrote to Huan about it." At Nuo's look he fanned at her. "He's not a child, Nuo. He deserves to know what's going on. Now especially that his other brother is up there."

"Oh, I've heard plenty about that, believe me. Su's been pushing to go ever since she got the letter from Ikki about it last winter. " Nuo sighed again. "Not that I blame her. How would I feel if it were Orchid or Iris? It's a mess. Poor Wing's been trying to play peacemaker, you know how he is. But he wants to go as well."

Mako walked back to them with a fussing Poppy. "Her diaper's good. Hungry, maybe?" He handed her gently down to her mother.

"Probably." Nuo took the baby and put her to her breast. Mako peeked in on a napping Pearl before leaning over to kiss Wu on the forehead.

"Has anyone seen Meili? Zhi's in the pool with Bo and the boys and Naoki's up the slide with Rohan and Sozui but I haven't seen Meili since we arrived."

Wu frowned. "I haven't either, actually." He sat up. "Is she over with the grandparent generation at the bar?"

"No. Hmmm. Maybe I should go and look." Mako frowned.

Nuo sat up, bringing Poppy with her. "Orchid and Iris are with Bolin as well and Wing has Rose. Who is she with, then?" All three of them looked about. "Is she with Qi?"

"No, Qi's doubling up with Rohan on the slide." Mako shaded his eyes with his hands. "I better go and find her."

"Do you want me to come?" Wu was worrying at his lip.

Mako shook his head. "I'm sure she's somewhere. If I can't find her myself I'll ask for help." He trotted off.

"Oh Nuo...you don't suppose..." Wu was fretting, his fan limp in his fingers.

"Nonsense. She's a waterbender, Wu. She's probably found something interesting to look at and isn't paying attention. You know how children are."

"I'm sure you're right..."

"I'm always right. Now sit back and tell me about what Qi said."

Wu sat back obediently. "Well, not much. You know how Qi is. Qi came to us and said that Qi was worried that Wei was going to get kicked off the Zorillas if he didn't get it together and that Qi thought we needed to do something about it."

Nuo turned her head to find Wei, standing at the top of one of the smaller waterslides, preparing to go down headfirst. "Get kicked off the team? But Wei's always been good about keeping his personal life and his professional life separate."

"According to Qi he's been showing up hungover to some of his practices. Even missed a few. His coach isn't happy with him at all. Mako tried to talk to him about it last week and Wei lost his temper at him. Not that Wei isn't known to lose his temper, of course, but Mako said that Wei got very belligerent about it, even threatened to punch Mako."

Nuo's head whipped back around and Poppy started to cry. "Oh, sorry, Poppy. Mommy's sorry, shhhh, go on now, go back to eating." She soothed her daughter's back. "He threatened to punch Mako? That's not like Wei at all."

"I was going to write but then you confirmed you were coming so I thought I'd talk to you about it in person."

Nuo frowned. "He hasn't said anything to Wing. I'd know if he did. And that in itself is unusual, the two of them talk about everything together. They've never kept secrets!"

"For what it's worth, Qi says Wei talks all the time about Baatar Junior being up there with Huan and Ikki. Qi even used the word _obsessed_ , and you know Qi does not actually have a single solitary flare for the dramatic. If Qi says _obsessed_ , then you can take that to the bank, really."

Nuo thought for a long moment, her hand absently caressing the back of her daughter's head. "I'll have to talk to Wing about it tonight," she said, slowly. "After the girls go down. Does Opal know?"

Wu nodded. "She's noticed as well. She obviously isn't going out at nights with him, so I'm not sure how much of it she sees. Even Qi isn't keeping up with him any more. Qi told Mako that Qi doesn't want to be out every night in clubs until dawn. Qi said it was fun once upon a time, but Qi's got other fish to fry, so to speak. So Wei's off on his own, half the time. More than half, really. Well, on his own without Qi, that is. And I think Qi was the one looking out for him anyhow, making sure he got home, that sort of thing. Not that Qi talks about it or anything, but you know Qi has never really enjoyed drinking until dawn." Wu scoffed. "Qi rarely even drinks. I haven't really..." his voice trailed off. "Do my eyes deceive me?" He cut his eyes over his fan.

"Oh _my_ ," murmured Nuo, her head tilting to the side. "My, my, my."

Tenzin stalked past them, his long pale legs sticking out of a pair of yellow and chartreuse striped swimming shorts. The singlet above them was so skimpily cut as to look like nothing more than ropes in the back. He jerked his head their direction as a greeting and continued to make his resolute way to the bar area.

"Impressive, for a man in his sixties," Nuo said, narrowing her eyes and fanning herself harder. "I had no idea at all what was hiding under that wingsuit."

"He really does make bald attractive, doesn't he?" Wu raised one eyebrow.

" _Mmmmmm_ ," said Nuo, with feeling.

Tenzin approached the rest of the crowd that was sitting at the bar, where heads swiveled to take in the sight. Lin scoffed a little and went back to her drink; LoLo, on the other hand, reached up, drew his sunglasses down and then grinned, giving Tenzin a very leisurely up and down before whistling at him.

Tenzin's entire head turned an interesting shade of tomato.

"He didn't!" Nuo gasped, hiding her face behind her fan, knocking poor Poppy about with her muffled laughter.

"Of course he did," said Wu, stifling his own giggles. "He's _terrible_. Oh look, Lin's trying not to laugh." Lin was scowling and sucking furiously at the straw that was sticking out of the large foot-shaped glass clutched in her hands.

"That's Lin trying not to laugh? She looks like she wants to kill someone," Nuo said, dipping her fan down.

"Oh, she always looks like that. It's all a matter of degrees. You get to know them, eventually."

"Admiring Tenzin's manly looks?" That was Wing, grinning down at them. "Not that I blame you. Nice. Very nice." He handed down a drink served in a coconut with an umbrella to Wu. "LoLo said this is your favorite." A large aloe water with several slices of melon was in his other hand. "And for the most beautiful woman here." Nuo took the drink in one hand while Wing deftly switched over Poppy to his shoulder, sitting on the deck chair on Nuo's other side. "Rosie's with Opal," he said. "Bu wanted to go play in the little pool with all the fountains." He patted Poppy on the back.

"Mako's off looking for Meili. You haven't seen her, have you?" Wu took a sip of his drink.

Wing frowned. "No. Mako already asked me. He recruited Qi and Wei to help him look. This place isn't that big, she's got to be here somewhere. Mako said he was going to check in the back where all the machines are that keep the slides running, he thought she might have gotten curious."

Wu put his drink down. "Oh, you don't think she might have..." He sat up, shoulders hunching. "Maybe I should help look."

"I'm sure she's fine, Wu. There's plenty of staff here as well, you know. Waterbender lifeguards at every pool."

"I know, I know. If it were Zhi missing I wouldn't be worried, you know he's always dashing off somewhere or the other and he always shows back up again. But Meili usually sticks close." He closed his eyes in relief and then pointed. "Well, worries over. See? Qi's got her." Qi had Meili's hand firmly in Qi's, and was marching her right up to where Wu was seated. Qi's face was unsmiling as they approached. "Meili, darling! Where on earth have you been! You've had everyone so worried!"

Qi let go of her hand before addressing Wing. "No one will hear me if I try to call. Would you mind letting Mako and Wei know she's safe?" Wing immediately stood up and handed Poppy over to Qi, who took her with practiced ease. As Wing jogged off, Qi looked back down at Meili with a frown. "You tell your Papa what it is you were doing when I found you."

Meili ground her toe into the grass before looking up at her father, blue eyes wide. "I was just up at the top of the big slide."

"Meili," Qi said, a warning evident in the tone.

"Meili," said Wu. "Were you being naughty?" Wu put a hand to his chest. "I can tell by your look! You tell me _instantly_ what you were doing when Qi found you."

"I wasn't doing anything so bad," she said. Her eyes got even bigger.

"If that's the case, then explain what _that_ is," said Qi, pointing towards the biggest water slide. Wu and Nuo both looked towards it.

"What on earth?" Nuo asked. "What is that?" 

"That," said Qi, soft voice very grim, "Is soap."

"Soap?" Wu blinked.

"Soap." Nuo repeated, watching as white foam cascaded down the slide, glopping into the pool beneath it. "Oh, it's soap all right."

"I caught someone here putting soap into the water at the top of the big slide." Qi's lips were pursed.

" _Meili Hou-Ting_ ," Wu gasped. "That was very very naughty indeed! Whatever possessed you to do it?"

"It was in the newspaper. LoLo read it to Lin."

Qi and Wu exchanged a glance. "What was in the paper, baby?" Qi laid a mostly asleep Poppy back into her pram, covering her carefully.

"Some bad boy put soap in the water here. I wanted to see it what it would do." Meili spun a slightly damp curl around her finger. "Papa's not mad?"

"On the contrary! I am _quite_ angry, Meili! Look at the mess it made!" They all turned to look at Naoki going face-first down the slide, whooping in joy as she plummeted through the bubbles at an increased velocity, flying through the air at the bottom of the slide, doing several flips before crashing into the pool.

"Naoki isn't mad," Meili said. "Naoki likes it."

"Your sister would slide through a vat of jook and laugh so long as it gave her a thrill," Wu said. "Naoki most certainly does _not_ count."

"Zhi does 'periments and nobody gets mad at Zhi." Meili put her lower lip out in a pout that was simply adorable. Qi showed signs of crumbling and Meili immediately wrapped her arms around Qi's leg, staring up with those bright blue eyes, chin trembling. "Qi's not mad?" Qi attempted to look stern. Qi failed.

"Don't you dare try to appeal to Qi, young lady! And besides, what Zhi does or does not is quite beside the point. I am _extremely_  unhappy with you. Where on earth did you get the soap, anyhow? I know you didn't carry it in with you."

Meili shrugged. "Bathroom. I made it soft with water and then bent it out, Papa."

Nuo coughed very suspiciously behind her fan, but quickly schooled her features back into sternness.

Wu sighed. "Well, here comes your father, anyhow."

Mako strode up and pointed at Sozui yelling his head off as he flew down the slide, covered in foam. "That your mess, Meili?"

Meili burst into tears.

"Oh...she didn't mean anything bad..." Qi was pleading, looking between Wu and Mako. "You didn't, did you, baby?" Meili hugged Qi's leg even tighter, sobbing.

"You might get past Qi with those tears, but you aren't getting past me. They are sending staff up there to clean it up and you are coming to help them. Right now." Mako took her hand in his and pried her away from Qi, marching her off. "We had no idea where you were, either! Guess how worried we were!" Mako continued to scold as he took her towards the stairs up to the slide.

"Qi! I am ashamed of you! All that girl has to do is bat her eyelashes at you and you fold." Wu waggled his closed fan at Qi.

Qi flopped down in the chair next to Wu. "Don't I know it. I can't help it." Qi put Qi's head in Qi's hands. "The eyes get me, every time."

Nuo tsked, shaking her head. "She's got your number, Qi." She snorted. "Just like Rose has Wing's. He'll let that child do anything." She smiled, just a little sadly. "She reminds him of Huan, I think."

Wu reached over and squeezed Nuo's hand. "Huan spoke when he was ready to, Nuo. Rose will when she's ready."

"I know, I know. Su says the same. I can't help but worry. Oh, Raava in a teacup, is that LoLo up there?" She pointed at LoLo, standing at the top of one of the slides, grinning, waving at Lin.

"That's going to end badly," Qi said, looking up.

"What on earth is he thinking?" Wu put his fan to his mouth. "He's trying to show off, I just know he is."

Lin was standing at the edge of the pool, hands on her hips, staring up at him. With a yell, LoLo launched himself down, sitting feet first. He swooped and swirled down the curves of the slide; all was going well until his body flew a little too fast around a bend and he spun, arms flailing, until he landed face down, flying through the air and hitting the water of the pool with a loud splash. He didn't immediately come back up again.

Lin stood there for a moment and then executed a perfect dive into the pool, only surfacing again with LoLo under one arm.

"Is he drowned?" Wu dropped his fan and gasped.

Qi snorted. "No." LoLo surged up out of the water and grabbed Lin, planting a kiss on her mouth. Lin kissed him back for a moment and then pulled away, shouting at him while he grinned in delight. "One of these days she's going to kill him." 

A heated discussion happened in the pool; with her arms thrown into the air Lin made her way out of the pool and then up the stairs. LoLo whistled after her retreating back and she made a very rude gesture with her hand, which only made him laugh harder. Up the stairs she went, disappearing for a few moments until she appeared at the top of the slide. She sat down, crossed her arms over her chest, and launched herself down the slide. Down she went, her eyes on LoLo the entire time, arms firmly crossed. When she hit the bottom she caught air and went gracefully into the pool feet first. LoLo roared his approval and went to fetch her out of the pool, grabbing her and kissing her. Lin unbent enough to smile and kiss him back.

It was a lovely day. Meili helped clean up the soap mess and Kya approved of her soap softening technique. ("I'm her teacher," she said to a disapproving Mako, "Not her parent. And it was some very inventive bending.") Mako finally cajoled Wu into sliding with him; Wu sat behind him with his arms around his waist, his face smashed into Mako's back, screaming the entire way down. Yumi joined them later in the afternoon and challenged Korra to a swimming race, which Korra was forbidden to bend in and which Yumi won, her strong kick plunging her through the water. Orchid sustained a scraped elbow and cried about it until her grandfather fetched her an ice cream and Sozui tore the skin right off of his knee, proudly showing off the wound to anyone who would look. Tenzin unwound enough to share a Kyoshi Stomp with his sister and Su spent an hour showing Zhi a certain type of kick serve in kuai ball. Bolin had an especially wonderful time, relaxing in public for the first time in years.

As evening came, the smaller children were yawning, Rose sound asleep in her father's arms and Meili drowsing on LoLo's lap.  The older children were playing some complicated game of tag, dashing in and around the fountains. Wu had Nuo's hand in his as they sat in their deck chairs, Wu having swapped out his smoked lenses for his regular spectacles. He brought Nuo's hand up to kiss it and she dimpled at him.

"This was a good day," he said.  He watched Jinora laugh as Kai danced her around the grass, swirling her in his arms. "I wish Huan could have been here."

"I miss him too," said Nuo. "He's happy there, though. I can tell by how he's writing." She glanced over at Wu. "We'll see him again. You know we will."

Wu's hand tightened in hers as fireworks, the traditional end to each and every day at the Water Park, sputtered and shimmered into the sky.


	17. A Searing Rebuke: Wu Scolds Korra

"But...why didn't you put Daddy down if he didn't like it?" Zhi was frowning, looking between his father and Korra.

"Oh, your dad always was oversensitive. It was just a joke. I wasn't really going to let him fall out of that airspout." Korra started laughing. "His face though! Ah! This is not what we rehearsed!" Korra made an exaggerated face full of fear, and kept laughing. "Priceless, just priceless."

"That's bullying," said Zhi. "It's mean. I don't like it." His chopsticks drooped in his fingers, and his eyes filled up with tears. "It's not nice."

Mako opened his mouth to say something, but Wu beat him to it, smiling his most brilliant smile. "Darling, it looks like you're finished. Why don't the three of you go into the backyard for a bit? I promised LoLo that we would go to the park to bring back some ice cream for dessert and you can help me choose flavors."

"Yes!" Naoki perked right up. "Can we get moonpeach?"

"I make no promises," Wu said, and waggled his eyebrows at her. "Run along, I'll be out in just a moment."

The three children made their polite excuses and got up from the table. Zhi was still clearly upset; Wu gathered him into his arms as he walked past and whispered something into his ear, which got a little smile out of the boy. Wu kissed his temple and gave him an affectionate little pat on the shoulder as Zhi walked away.

"Well, thank you, LoLo. Excellent as always." Wu patted at his mouth with his napkin. He was angry, Mako realized with some surprise. It was so rare to see Wu actually angry that it took him aback for a moment. Oh, Wu could get miffed; sometimes he got, as Qi put it, his royal shorts in a twist. This wasn't that, however. The set of his jaw and the glitter in his eyes tipped Mako off, despite the smile plastered on Wu's face and his normal polite tone. "I do wonder if I might have a private word with you for a moment, Korra?" 

Korra blinked. "Uh. Sure." She stood up as Wu did; he gestured her ahead of him, herding her out of the kitchen.

"She's going to catch it now," Qi said, sliding back into a little street vernacular, watching the two of them leave. "He's not happy."

Lin took the last swallow of her tea. "I don't blame him. You know I like Korra, but..."

LoLo snorted and rolled his eyes. "But." He stood up. "Help me stack these dishes?" Qi had already anticipated the request and was gathering together bowls.

"I...what's he so angry about? Korra's just being Korra." Mako looked around the table.

"That's the problem, isn't it?" Lin sighed and leaned over to place a bowl in Qi's stack.

While the table was being cleared Mako slipped out quietly to find his husband. He heard the sound of voices coming from the receiving room near the front doors; he made his way over, standing out of sight. Korra had her back to him; he could just make out half of Wu's face. He was angry, all right, his eyes flashing and his mouth gone thin, his usual look of affability gone.

"...look, it was just a joke, okay?" Korra sounded defensive. "Mako knows I was making a joke!"

"And my children do? You come into my house - my home - and speak that way about my husband? In front of his children?" Wu's lip curled back, the scorn on his face unmistakable. "It is very clear that the White Lotus may have excelled at teaching you bending but they certainly never did anything to teach you the first thing about manners."

Korra rocked back on her heels and crossed her arms. "Look, Mako doesn't need you to defend him-"

Wu cut her off. "What you and Mako discuss in private is none of my business. What you do out and about together is also none of my business. Mako is a grown man and he can make his own choices about the company he keeps. But you will not come into my home and speak about my husband that way. Do it again and you will no longer be welcome here."

Mako inched just slightly closer so that he could see Wu's entire face. Wu was in control; his royal training on display. He stood ramrod straight, his hands relaxed by his side, head held high. Desire spiked through Mako; he pushed it down and ignored it. Now was definitely not the time.

She started to shift from side to side. "Wu! I think you're overreacting!" 

"Do you have any idea how frequently Zhi is bullied? There are reasons we haven't sent him to the same school that Naoki and San attend, and one of those reasons is that a child as sensitive and fragile as he is is an easy mark for bullies. I would rather not see him beaten and broken down by the Korras of the schoolyard, thank you very much. He certainly doesn't need to see his father subjected to the same." 

"Look, I'm not a bully! It was a joke!" Now she was indignant.

Wu's voice was cold. "Did anyone laugh, Avatar Korra? Did one single person at that table laugh at your so-called joke?" As he took a sudden step towards her Korra took an involuntary step back. "No one laughed because it was not funny." He made a sharp gesture with his hand. "He is their father. They look up to him. They respect him. What kind of ignorant buffoon mocks a father in front of his children?" 

"Is that some sort of comment about the Water Tribe? Because if it is-"

Wu cut her off with an aristocratic sneer. "You mistake me. I am in no way impugning the reputation of the Southern Water Tribe. I have nothing but the greatest respect for your parents as well as your culture. It's you I have a decidedly low opinion of." When Wu started speaking like a dictionary Mako knew he was coming to the end of his patience. He almost felt sorry for Korra.

"I have never liked the way you speak to Mako," said Wu, and he smiled. It was not a pleasant smile. "I didn't like it the first day I met you and I still don't like it. I think you treat him badly and you use your so-called friendship to excuse it." His eyes narrowed. "Come now. Let's not dance around it. You have never much liked me. You made that extraordinarily clear on the day you met me. In fact, you thought so little of a terrified and drugged eighteen year old boy that you shoved your hand into his face and pushed him backwards when he was merely looking for reassurance and acceptance."

Korra shrugged, digging a foot into the carpet. "Well..."

"Oh yes, I know. I was annoying. I talked too much when I was nervous - and I was nervous about meeting you, I can assure you. The one and only Avatar. You didn't disappoint when it came to showing off your truly astounding bending skills on that day, of course. I suppose I should just overlook the fact that you threw me onto the roof of a moving train." His nostrils flared. "How very unreasonable of me to be frightened in that moment and therefore not as instantly compliant as you would have preferred." He leaned in closer to her again. "How very fucking dare I."

Mako's eyes widened. Wu never cursed. He considered it common and unimaginative.

"Wu..."

"So let's just say that after that day? The dislike was mutual. Oh, does that surprise you, Avatar Korra? That someone might not like you? That someone might think that you were an overbearing and insensitive brute? Because that's how I saw you on that day." Wu flicked his fingers. "I've gotten over most of it. I'm not that boy any longer, any more than you are that girl. And I'll note that even though I didn't like you I still argued that you needed to be at the meeting of the world leaders about Kuvira. It wasn't about how I felt about you on a personal level. It was about the necessity of having the Avatar involved on matters of world policy." His eyes were icy. "I spent my childhood suckling on the teat of politics, Korra. I may not be able to throw a punch, but I've forgotten more about politics, governance and history than you'll ever learn. Despite my personal dislike, you as the Avatar needed to be there." He scoffed, looking down his aristocratic nose. "That's always been the difference between the two of us, however. It was drilled into me from the time I was a very small child that the King always came before Wu. It took you a great deal of trial and error before you came to that understanding about yourself, I believe."

"This from the guy who gave up a kingdom for his boyfriend." Korra's stance was belligerent. 

Wu laughed, a dismissive sound. "Oh come now, you can do better than that. He wasn't my boyfriend at the time, if you recall. Is there really a part of you that thinks that's why I did it? Because I wanted Mako? Because I wanted a singing career?" He shook his head. "Oh, Korra. You disappoint me. There were choices ahead of me, difficult choices. The Earth Kingdom was splintering into pieces under Kuvira, despite her dogged belief to the contrary. I had reports from Dai Li agents, from intelligence sources around the kingdom. It was so much more than you can ever even possibly imagine. Being an Avatar is not the same of being a King, believe me. My skill set is completely different." He considered her for a moment and then transformed, shrinking down into a smaller version of himself, silly grin on his face. "You know, gumdrop, most people don't go out of their way to drop rocks on the heads of silly boys who they think they can easily control. Goofy, right? The sillier they think you are, the less threat you are. Wear big hats. Sing with the badgermoles! Get lots of photo shoots! Pay no attention at all to your throne! It's just wacky!" He straightened back up. "I was a foolish boy the same way you were a hotheaded girl. Not all of it was an act. Both of us needed to grow up. But I was never stupid."

"Fine. I'll admit that on that day I wasn't exactly -"

Wu cut her off again with another disdainful flick of his fingers. "Spare me the apologies. I don't need them any longer. And as I said, Mako is an adult man, he can make his own choices. He certainly doesn't need me to make them for him. If he wants to be the butt of your jokes because he thinks that's the only way he can keep your friendship then I won't get in the middle of it. But." Here he leaned forward again. "You might want to think about why it is you do that to him. I've never heard you do it to anyone else. Not Bolin, not Tenzin, and certainly not to your wife. Not even to me, and we've never been all that fond of each other. I'm not sure why it is you go after Mako. He's a good man, Korra. The best I know."

"I know he's a good man! I've known him longer than you, remember? He's an incredible bender, for one thing-"

Wu rolled his eyes. "That's what it always comes down to, isn't it? You benders, you're all the same. Like someone being an accomplished bender has any reflection on whether or not they are a decent person. It's not about him being a good bender. He suffered through things that you and I can only imagine and came out of it a good man. Why can't you respect that about him?"

"I do respect that! And besides, he's not the only one who has gone through shit, you know."

Wu held up a hand. "Don't compare what happened to you to what happened to him. I don't dismiss the things that happened to you, not at all. I know you suffered and I would never try to denigrate that. But you're a princess, Korra, as privileged as I ever was. If you hadn't been the Avatar you'd still be that. You had a home, parents, anything you could ever want, everything money could buy. Training, too, by the best benders in the world. You had the best of everything. And even when the unimaginable happened to you, you still were surrounded by people who loved and cared for you. The best waterhealer in the world was treating you! Mako had no one! He was eight years old, Korra! Eight! The same age San is now! And Bu is the same age that Bolin was. Can you even begin to fathom it? Has he ever told you what happened to his parents?"

"I know they were killed by firebenders. In front of him. He's never really talked about it, though."

Wu sighed. "Well, he's talked about it to me. His mother, and what they did to her..." He took a deep breath. "In any case. That's for Mako to tell you if he chooses, not me. But I can assure you, what that eight year old child went through on that day was every bit as horrific as what you went through at the hands of the Red Lotus. And afterwards all he had was the street and whatever he could steal or scrounge to keep the two of them alive. No one cared for them. No one helped them. You know Bolin. Do I really have to tell you that it was all on Mako's shoulders? He was on his own."

"I know what it's like. I was on my own too for a time, you know."

Wu's look was incredulous. "You were on your own because you chose to be. You chose that! You were an adult woman who had survival training as well as the best bending training in the world. You deliberately broke off communication with the people who loved you as well as the rest of the world to find yourself, or whatever it was you were doing. You are comparing that to an eight year old on the street without friends or family? You could have stopped at any time. You could have gone back to your parents, back to Republic City, back to Zaofu. You could have walked into any village and easily identified yourself as the Avatar and had gotten help. You had those choices available to you."

He broke away from her and began to pace, his voice passionate and his long fingers stabbing towards her in his agitation. "What choices did Mako have? He was a little boy! A schoolboy who had learned only the bare basics of bending from his mother, who had no choices at all. Have you ever heard him complain? Have you ever heard him use it as an excuse? You love to joke that he has no sense of humor. Did it never occur to you that maybe eight year olds who watch their parents being murdered in front of their eyes and who spend the next ten years or so actively trying not to starve, freeze to death, get sold off to pimps or, you know, stabbed in the dark might just possibly lose whatever sense of humor they might have had? He's not made of stone! He has feelings!"

Korra finally looked away. "I know things were rough for him. I get it."

Wu stopped himself and closed his eyes, breathing slowly, trying to regain his composure. "I know things were difficult for you as well. I'm not trying to dismiss any of your experiences, Korra. I'm not trying to make this a competition over who had the worst time. Things weren't exactly easy for me growing up either, although in vastly different ways than either you or Mako experienced. Your own experiences helped to shape you and you were able to take something horrific in your own past and come to terms with it and use it going forward to become a better Avatar, and for that, believe it or not, I do admire you. As the Avatar you have my highest and most sincere appreciation for everything you do. But for whatever reason, you do not treat Mako the way that you treat everyone else and for the life of me I can't understand it. Is it because you dated and that whole thing with Asami? That was fourteen years ago and I would have thought you had let go of it by now."

She swung her gaze up to meet his. "It wasn't Mako's fault. Well, not entirely, all three of us were stupid and screwed that up, not just him. It's all in the past, though. None of that's mattered for years."

Wu reached out a pleading hand. "So why? Why do you do it? He thinks so highly of you. Do you even understand how highly he regards you? He credits you for changing his life, Korra. Why would you make fun of him in front of his children? Why?"

Korra was silent for a time. Mako still couldn't see her face but he could see the dejected slump of her shoulders, see the fury fade slowly out of Wu's eyes. "I don't know. He never seems to mind..." her voice trailed off at Wu's expression.

"Do you know him at all? How can you look at him and think he doesn't mind? Of course he minds. It hurts him, and especially because he thinks the world of you. And it puts him in a terrible position in front of the children."

"Papa! Papa, we're waiting and waiting! Are you coming or not!" Naoki's voice came from the other end of the hallway. "Paaaaaaaaapaaaaaaaa!"

Wu's eyes closed before rolling skywards. "How many times have I told that child not to shout in the house! In any case. All I ask of you is to please be more mindful of what you say in front of the children. I would appreciate it, as would Mako, I am sure. Even if he doesn't know how to say it to you. Now, if you will excuse me, I have promised ice cream and if I don't deliver my children will track dirt into this house looking for me." He nodded at Korra and swept out of the room. Mako quickly darted behind one of the open doors, but Wu was headed the opposite direction and didn't see him.

Korra stood for a few minutes after Wu had gone, her back still towards him. After a time she turned around and left, heading back towards the kitchen, her face thoughtful. Mako lingered for a moment, undecided, before walking down the hall towards the side door. Wu never forgot to get him coconut, but he'd help them carry the ice cream just the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was struck, during Book 4's _Reunion_ episode, how cruel Korra was towards Wu. He was annoying, certainly; however, being kidnapped was not his fault and he had been drugged and was clearly afraid. Her shoving her hand into his face and pushing him away when he tried to join the hug was meant to be funny, but it always struck me as very unlike Korra. She could be blunt and had a temper, for sure, but she had never been cruel. It was mean and out of character, all for a cheap laugh. I never liked it, and especially not for Korra's sake.
> 
> I also never liked it when she made fun of Mako. He was uncomfortable during Book 3; he tried to back out of their mission and she and Bolin dragged him along. He became the butt of many of her jokes and it never sat well with me. He didn't want to take part in their role play about the convict firebender and using airbending to mock and frighten him was a real bullshit move on her part. Maybe it's because I've always headcanoned Mako as being autistic and I'm more than a little tired of the jokes that are made at autistics' expense!


	18. A Caretaker's Conundrum: Wei Watches The Kids

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wei watches Opal's kids for the weekend. This takes place a few weeks before I Do Not Ask The Night For Explanations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got two Tumblr prompts for a drabble in Wei's POV:
> 
> "People are not addicted to drugs or alcohol, they are addicted to escaping reality" and "Wei being asked to take care of San, Bu, and Pearl for the entire weekend or something."
> 
> They sort of got combined? I didn't plan it. Look, it happens.

"That's the phone number of the hotel, if you need us. And you have Mako's number, of course." Opal had one hand on her hip. "I don't know, Bolin. Maybe you should go alone. I can stay home."

"It's like you don't trust me or something!" Wei threw his hands up. "I'm not going to kill them or leave them at the park or forget to feed them or anything."

"Opal, honey, come on. The car is waiting." Bolin was shifting from foot to foot. "It'll be fine. The kids love Wei."

"We love Uncle Wei! Don't worry!" Bu threw his arms around Opal's thigh.

"It'll be okay, Mommy." San had Pearl in his arms. "You and Daddy have a nice time."

Bolin took Opal's hand in his. "Honey, if we're late for the airship you know I'll never hear the end of it from Varrick."

"Okay, okay, I know when I'm outnumbered." Opal quickly gathered Bu in for a hug, followed by a hug for San and Pearl, leaning in to whisper into San's ear. "If there's a problem you call Uncle Mako, okay?" San nodded gravely and she kissed his cheek. She straightened up to jab her index finger into Wei's forehead. "Anything goes wrong, I will _end you_."

"Nice!" Wei yelped, smacking her finger away. "You know, you're giving a really great example of airbender non-violence to Bu, here!"

She pointed at him and mouthed, _End you,_ as Bolin blew the kids a kiss. "Have fun, guys! Don't forget to listen on the radio!"

"Bye Daddy! Bye!" Bu waved after them, "Bye, Mommy!" They all watched and waved from the porch as the hired car pulled away before coming back inside. Bu shut the door behind him. All three children looked at Wei expectantly.

Wei looked back. 

The kids wouldn't stop staring at him. 

"Right. So. Yeah. What are we doing, here?"

San sighed. Not for the first time, Wei reflected that San sounded a whole lot like Mako when he sighed, which was kind of a funny thing, if you thought about it. "You're the grown up, Uncle Wei. You're supposed to tell us what we're doing." San's _I am so done with your shit_ tone sounded just like his mother, though.

"Right, right. So have you had lunch?"

"It's eight o'clock in the morning." Spirits, _just_ like his mother, that kid. Right down to the look on his face.

"I knew that! I'm just funnin' with you. So! What do you say? Zoo?"

"We went to the zoo last weekend with Uncle Wu." Damn, kid! San could stop busting his ass at any given time, here. Wei ran a hand through his hair, still staring at the kids. Bu was smiling encouragingly; San was watching him with the freaky copy of Opal look and Pearl chose that exact moment open her mouth and start to wail.

"Hey! Pearl! What's wrong, baby?" He stepped forward and took her out of San's arms, putting her up to his shoulder. "Hey, hey, now, why all the waterworks, hmm?" He glanced over her head to see both boys staring at his chest.

"Um...Uncle Wei?" Bu smiled nervously and pointed at him. Wei looked down to see a yellowy-brown stain spreading from Pearl's diapered butt across his shirt.

"Motherfu- uh, darn it! Darn it!" He tucked his niece under his arm and made for the nearest bathroom.

 

Forty-five minutes and a bath, a complete change of clothes for both uncle and niece and many swallowed curses later, Pearl was sitting happily on the floor, banging together two wooden blocks. San was reading a book on the sofa while Bu was drawing a picture with some crayons that looked like something Huan might have done in one of his weird modern art phases. Wei, on the other hand, was sprawled out on a chair, exhausted, which was just ridiculous. It wasn't even ten in the morning yet! How was he going to manage this for an entire weekend? It was his own damned fault, though. He'd been there at dinner when Opal had told Wu and Mako that she was thinking of going with Bolin to his big mover premiere party in Ba Sing Se, and everyone had obviously just assumed that the kids would be going to stay with Mako like they always did. Wu hadn't even said that they'd keep the kids, he'd just started talking to Opal about what she was going to wear. It had pissed him off a little bit. Or, you know, a lot. Sure, he didn't have kids of his own, but that didn't mean he couldn't take care of them. He loved these kids! So he had blurted out that he could watch the kids for the weekend, causing an instant hush around the table. His aunt had snorted her opinion of it and gone back to her food; Opal had instantly shot the idea down and Mako had looked both disdainful and skeptical in that way that only Mako could manage. That right there, that look Mako was giving him, was the last straw. So he'd pressed the case; told them why he wanted to do it, got Bu's enthusiastic support (thank you, Bu) and finally Bolin had come around, sweet talking Opal into it. He'd felt pretty triumphant about the whole thing until Qi had taken him aside privately after dinner and had expressed some concerns about his ability to handle things. 

That had hurt, actually; hurt more than the reactions of everyone else combined. Qi was supposed to be his friend, was supposed to have his back. He'd been so pissed off and hurt by it, as a matter of fact, that he hadn't talked to Qi for the past two weeks, not since that night at Mako's. Qi being Qi hadn't even gone after him about it, not like Opal would have if he'd done the same to her. Qi had just given him one of those looks Qi had - the one where Qi looked at you like you were the worst fuck up in the history of the world and Qi was going to go and cry about it - and let him be. And that hurt too. Wasn't he worth fighting for? Didn't even Qi care enough to fight for him?

"Uncle Wei, we promised Mommy we would go and visit Juicy to keep him company. Do you want to come with us?" There was Bu's happy little face. Wei ruffled his hair and stood up, scooping up Pearl on the way.

"Sure I will, but he better not sneeze on me like last time," he said, making a face, and was rewarded with a giggle from San, even.

 

Lunchtime was take out for the boys and some breast milk that Opal had put into pre-made bottles in the icebox for Pearl. She'd also said, in her very long and very detailed note, that Pearl appreciated mashed up peas, so with San's help Wei obliterated some cooked peas and while he was pretty sure most of it got _on_ her as opposed to _in_ her, Pearl seemed happy, so he considered it a success. Wei had absolutely no idea how women actually collected milk if a baby wasn't doing it for them. Did you milk them like hippo cows? The mental image of Bolin milking his sister was something he now needed to bleach out of his brain. He'd ask Qi - Qi always seemed to know about these kinds of things, for whatever inexplicable reason - but he wasn't talking to Qi. So never mind. Another change of clothes for Pearl and then he laid her down for a nap. She was a real chunker, Pearl; big thighs with rolls of chub and cheeks that looked like she had nuts stored in them. Probably what Bolin had looked like when he was a baby. He and Wing had been chunkers too; his mother had joked that hauling the two of them around had been like carrying boulders. She was pretty cute though, he had to admit. Poor Bu had been a fretful baby; thin and often sick, clinging to Opal most of the time. But Pearl had this great little giggle and black hair that stuck up in tufts all over her head and Bolin's bright green eyes. As babies went she was top notch, insofar as Wei was concerned.

He had just settled down to play a board game with the boys when the doorbell rang. He was a little wary; Bolin's address was kept pretty quiet for the most part, but sometimes fans took it upon themselves to just show up at the door, looking for autographs or more. When he looked through the peephole he saw his aunt, however, so he let her in.

"Aunt Lin!" cried the boys, abandoning their game to run and greet her.

"Don't get your sticky hands on me," she said, her face grouchy, but the boys knew better, hugging her to get begrudging hugs in return. "LoLo sent me over with some food for you." She nodded towards the bag she'd left by the door.

"Thanks, Aunt Lin," he said, and took it to the icebox.  When he came back the boys were gleefully spread out together on the sofa, a load of comic books in their hands. Comic books? He looked over at his aunt, who shrugged.

"So I stopped by the bookstore on my way over, what's it to you?" She sniffed. "Well, are you going to stand there or are you going to make me a cup of tea?"

Obviously he was going to be making a cup of tea, then. They left the boys to their comics and went into the kitchen, Wei getting busy with the kettle.

"So how's it going, then?"

Wei shot her a look. "It's only been half a day. I'm not _that_ incompetent, you know."

"Don't get your shorts in a twist, I was just making conversation." She was quiet as he went about the business of making them cups of tea. Once he'd sat down, however, she let him have it. "So. You want to tell me why it is you aren't talking to Qi?"

"No." He scowled into his cup.

"Let me rephrase that. Spill it, Wei."

He shoved at his tea cup petulantly. "Who are you, my mother?" 

"If I was your mother, I would have started this conversation by yelling at you."

She had a point there. He shrugged. "It's no big deal. And besides, it's Qi that's not talking to me."

"Bullshit." He glanced over to see her sitting back in her chair, eyebrows raised. "Hot steaming bullshit, at that. Look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way, but I'm not leaving until you tell me what's going on. Just because Qi doesn't always show Qi's feelings doesn't mean Qi doesn't have them. You of all people should know this."

"I know that!"

"Then grow the fuck up and figure this out. You pissed off because Qi thought this weekend was a bad idea?"

Wei felt his face go hot. "Spirits, do you even know how to mind your own business?"

His aunt leaned forward and pointed her finger at his face. "You're my business. Qi's my business. My great-nephews and -niece are my business."

"Why does everyone think this is such a bad idea? Everyone except Bolin, that is."

His aunt scoffed. "First of all, Bolin would think it was a good idea to let that disgusting snot-nosed beast in the backyard watch these kids. You know I am fond enough of him in my own way, but Bolin doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground."  She pointed her finger again. "The reason we all think this is a bad idea is because you're irresponsible and you drink too damn much."

His mouth dropped open. "Spirits, Aunt Lin. Don't hold back or anything!"

She rolled her eyes at that. "I don't have the patience to dance around the subject." She dropped her hands to the table and sighed. "It's not a matter of whether or not you love these kids, Wei. We all know you love them. But you _are_ irresponsible. And you _do_ drink too much. What kind of mother would Opal be if she left her kids with someone who would get drunk while he was watching them?"

Wei's eyes filled up with tears and he refused to look at her. So this is what everyone thought of him, was it? Well, fuck them. Fuck _all_ of them.

"Damn it, Wei! Don't you know that we all care? We're your family, you idiot! Of course we care!" She leaned forward to put a hand on his arm. "Wei. I don't know what's going on with you. None of us do. But we want to help, can't you see that?"

Bu popped his head into the kitchen. "Aunt Lin, how come Qi is sitting in the car in the driveway? Doesn't Qi want to come in?"

Wei turned to look at his aunt. Her mouth was pursed, her chin stuck out in a way he recognized from his mother; she had made up her mind and nothing anyone said was going to change it. He was known to wear that look himself, on a fairly regular basis. She turned and gave Bu a little smile. "Well, why don't you run on out there and tell Qi I said it was okay to come in?"

"Okay!" Bu scampered off.

"So I don't even get asked? What if I don't want Qi here?" He wanted to be angry; he wanted to shout and rage at her. Instead, the tears were seeping down his cheeks. He scrubbed at them, swallowing past the rock lodged in his throat.

His aunt looked at him with something that, if he hadn't known better, might have been pity. "If Qi's here, everyone will be happier, including you. Let Qi help you. And for the love of Raava, boy, make it right with Qi. You're never going to have another friend as good as that one. Don't fuck it up over your damned stupid Beifong pride. Listen to what I'm telling you. You know I'm not talking out of my ass on that one."

He looked down at the table and nodded. She moved her hand to his shoulder and squeezed before standing up. "Well, I'll let you to it. I promised LoLo I'd stop off at the fishmarket on the way home and get him some fresh eel. That man is particular about his damned fish, too." She stood there for a moment, awkward, before giving his shoulder a second squeeze and then walking out of the kitchen.

He heard the boys greet Qi enthusiastically, heard the door shut behind his aunt, even heard the sound of the car starting up. He didn't move from the table. Was this how they all felt about him? That he was a fuck up? That he was someone that needed to be handled with white gloves, someone who could break down at any time? He was Wei Beifong! Nothing got him down! If they wanted to worry about someone then they should worry about Huan, having to be up on that mountain with Junior. Spirits knew what was going on up there. Sure, he enjoyed his parties. He was young! He deserved some fun every once in awhile. Besides, it wasn't like he couldn't stop whenever he wanted to. He just wasn't ready to settle down and give up his good times, that's all. He glanced up suddenly to see Qi leaning against the doorway, arms crossed, silent as always. Qi always had moved like a ghost; like a whisper of smoke, Qi disappearing and re-appearing out of nowhere. He couldn't understand it. He'd never walked into a room without making an entrance, never could stand to be somewhere unnoticed. 

"How did we ever become friends anyhow?" He hadn't meant to say it aloud, but the words were out now, hanging in the air between them. "We're nothing alike, I mean."

Qi stared at him for a long moment, face unreadable as usual. "Opposites attract, I guess." Most of Qi's dockside accent was gone now; the effort of months of work with a speech improvement course that Qi had bought, listening to the records and practicing on Qi's own. Qi always did what Qi put Qi's mind to. Qi was all self-made; Wei knew things about Qi's background that not even Wu knew, and he knew how strong Qi was, how determined, how fearless. How admirable.

Qi sure as shit wasn't the one staying up all night, stumbling home at dawn, not even able to remember where the drinks had come from, not even knowing the name of the strange man in the bed next to him. No, that was him; all Wei Beifong, fuck up extraordinaire. 

"I don't know what to do," he blurted out, his eyes filling up with tears again. "I don't know how it all got this way."

Qi understood, as always. Qi came across the room and pulled up a chair right next to him, wrapping Qi's arms around him. "I know," said that quiet voice. "But for this weekend you're going to stay here with me and we're going to keep these kids safe and taken care of, okay? Together."

"I'm not good enough for you," he said, trying not to sob. Qi's arms tightened.

"I know you don't think so. But I don't agree."

"Are you okay, Uncle Wei?" There was San, standing in the doorway, worried. He looked a lot like Bolin, but he had Opal's eyes, and those eyes were darting between Qi and him, trying to gauge the situation.

"Sometimes even grown ups have rough days," Qi said, and then smiled. "Your uncle's having a rough day, but it's going to be okay. I'm going to stay here too, until your folks get home. Okay?"

San's face brightened up. "You are?" At Qi's nod he ran back into the other room, and Wei overheard him telling Bu. Bu clapped his hands.

"Fuck. Even these kids don't want me around." 

Qi patted him on the back and stood up. "That's not true. They love you, they just don't understand what's going on, and that's scary for little kids." Qi dropped a kiss on the top of his head. "Come on. It's a nice day. When the baby wakes up from her nap we can go out in the backyard and let the kids play. We can have dinner out there on a blanket, make it like a picnic. They'll like that."

Wei dried off his eyes and stood up as well. He flashed Qi his best grin, winking at him. "We're all good, right? You and me?" His smile faltered as Qi didn't return his smile, staring at him.

"You hurt me," Qi said. "You're hurting everyone. Most of all you're hurting yourself. Something's got to give, Wei. I just hope you're still here when it does." Qi's head cocked to the side as the sound of the baby crying started up from across the house.

"Qi! Pearl's awake," Bu called from the other room, and Qi slipped out of the kitchen without another word. 

"I need a drink," Wei muttered to himself, and he stared down at his empty hands.


	19. An Encroaching Darkness: Zhi Has a Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightmares.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is for my Betareader.

Mako's eyes opened in the dark. It took him a moment to haul himself into consciousness, his mind still grasping at sleep, and he shook his head, trying to clear it. Had he actually heard anything? He strained in the gloom, listening past the sound of Wu's soft breathing. No, there it was; the muffled murmur of a child crying. Zhi.

He slid himself out of bed, careful not to wake Wu, quickly belting on his dressing gown. He crossed the landing and opened up the door to Zhi's room; the sobbing intensified. He shut the door behind him with a near-silent click. "Hey, buddy. Bad dream?"

"Oh, Daddy!" Zhi's voice was clogged with snot and tears. Mako made his way to him, biting down a grunt when his foot made contact with something sharp that dug into his heel. He sat down on the bed, reaching through the dim light for his son.

"It's okay, here I am." Zhi wrapped those thin arms of his around his neck, clinging to him like an elbow leech. Mako's hands automatically started to rub his back in gentle circles. "It's okay now. Whatever it was, it was just a dream. It can't hurt you."

"But it was such a bad one, Daddy." Zhi's sobs were soaking the shoulder of his dressing gown.

"Yeah, I can tell. You want to tell me about it?" He kissed him on the top of his head. Zhi responded by wiping his nose across a dry patch of his shoulder and he grimaced, just a little. He shifted him out of the covers so that he was sitting in his lap, keeping his arms around him.

"Well, it started out that I was in those big caves outside of Zaofu. You know the ones I mean?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"I don't know why I was there, but I was all by myself. I couldn't find my way out. And I was calling and calling, but nobody came to help me!" The sobs started again.

"That sounds really scary." Mako kissed him again.

"It was dark, Daddy, and there were strange sounds and I was so scared, and I wanted you to come and save me but you didn't come!"

"Oh, buddy. Those are the worst kind of dreams."

"Did you ever have a dream like that?" Zhi sat up in his arms, his sobs tapering off as he listened for his father's answer.

"Sure. When Uncle Bo and I were little boys, after Grandma and Grandpa died, I used to have dreams that I lost him. That he would disappear and I would look everywhere but couldn't find him."

Zhi's arms tightened around him. "Those sound like excruciatingly atrocious dreams, Daddy. Did you cry?"

Mako's hand stroked through his boy's hair. "It wasn't really safe for me to cry. When you live on the streets people will...well. They aren't very nice to you if they think that they can take advantage of you. So I had to keep my crying on the inside."

Zhi was quiet for a time, thinking. Mako held him close, his hands soothing at him. "But you never did lose him, did you?"

Mako smiled to himself in the dark. "No. I never did." He kissed Zhi again. "And I would never lose you, either. Not in a cave or anywhere else."

"Just like when I was baby, right? You found me then, didn't you, Daddy? And kept me safe?"

Mako's throat tightened. "Yes. Just like then." He blinked back unexpected tears. "I'm your Daddy. It's my job to keep you safe."

"I'm really glad you're my Daddy." Zhi nestled his head into his neck, pressing up against his jaw. Mako swallowed, hard.

"I'm glad too, Zhi." He kissed him several times. "You're a good boy and I love you."

It had been hard, once upon a time, to tell people that he cared for them. He'd struggled with the emotion; fought against the vulnerability of opening himself up to the kind of hurt that came from losing the ones you loved. It still wasn't easy for him, but he remembered how it felt, all those years, to be without any love but his brother's. He knew now that it was important for him to say it. People needed to hear it, just like he had needed to hear it as well. Still needed to, when it came to that.

The morning that his parents had died, he had woken up early. Normally his father was off to work at the marketplace before his mother got him out of bed, but he had woken up with a nightmare about going to school without his clothes on and had crept out of bed to find his father in the bathroom, shaving. Mako had told him about the dream; his father had kissed him and sat him down on the toilet seat, chatting with him as he got himself ready. _You've got nothing to be nervous about when it comes to school, boy-o,_ his Daddy had said, grinning at him in the mirror. _Your Mama saw your teacher last week and she told her that you are the smartest kid in the class._ He had wriggled with embarrassed joy and his Daddy had laughed. _You've got your Mama's smart brains,_ he said. _Sky's the limit for you! Who knows what you'll be someday! The real question is, will you have as fine a mustache as your Daddy's, though?_ His father had stroked at his mustache while shooting his eyebrows up and down and Mako had laughed. _Say, I have an idea! Why don't you come by the marketplace after school and pick me up? We can walk home together. What do you think?_ At his excited nod his father had laughed again and grabbed him up into a big hug. _I sure am proud of you,_ he had said, and Mako had glowed with it.

"Let's go wash your face off and then I'll put you back to bed," he told his son and took him into the bathroom to wipe his face with a damp washcloth, making sure he blew his nose as well. He tucked him back under his covers, sitting down next to him again.

"Will you stay until I fall asleep?" Zhi asked and he stroked his hair back from his forehead, just like his Mama had always done for him.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said, and he stayed with his boy until he slept again.


	20. A Morsel of Hearsay: The Spring Festival Committee Meets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Spring Festival Committee of Republic City meets for tea and a little conversation.

Jun-Yi clapped her beautifully manicured hands twice. "Ladies..." here a nod to Tsung-Han, who was languidly leaning against her marble fireplace "...and gentleman, we're all here, I believe, so I've rung for tea. If you'd all like to sit down?" She gestured gracefully towards the sitting area while keeping an eye on the door. "Oh wait, we're missing Risa, aren't we?" She frowned. "Perhaps she's not feeling well today."

"I spoke to her yesterday and she was fine. Tired, of course, but otherwise well." Koemi, the wife of a celebrity chef, was also frowning. "I hope she hasn't taken ill." There was a slight flurry at the door and Risa, the young aristocratic wife of the heir to Republic City's wealthiest shipping magnate, came into the room, escorted by Jun-Yi's butler.

"I am so sorry I'm late," she said, blushing prettily. "I fell asleep."

Jun-Yi smiled as she kissed both of her cheeks. "Darling, I remember the first trimester very well. It happens that way."

"Shiori once fell asleep in the middle of a conversation," said Tsung-Han with his well-known smirk. His wife was the editor-in-chief of _Snazzy Magazine_. "She even fell asleep in the middle of dinner."

With another graceful wave of Jun-Yi's hands, they all seated themselves, with Risa getting an extra throw pillow tucked behind her back, and the maid brought in the tea service.

"Now, first things first. As you can see, we are missing both Dihn and Wu today. Dihn won't be back until next week from his family holiday but he left me his notes. However, our Wu has been stricken with a dismal cold. I spoke to him this morning and he sounded exactly like a foghorn, the poor dear. He sends along his regrets." Jun-Yi handed a teacup to Risa first. "Here, darling, you look as if you could use it." With another one of her smiles, she nodded to the woman sitting on the sofa next to her. "Now! I would like to officially welcome Soon-Ja back to our little group. As some of you might remember, she was always a part of the Spring Festival Committee until her husband became the ambassador to the Northern Water Tribe fifteen years back. She has just recently returned to Republic City due to her divorce. Darling, we missed you so. Please tell me you did well with the settlement."

Soon-Ja, a ruthlessly attractive woman in her early fifties, sniffed. "Oh, I did well. I hope he enjoys his secretary, because he certainly won't be enjoying his money!" This garnered general laughter. "Thank you for having me back. Now, catch me up on everyone, please! Is it really true that King Wu has joined the committee?" She leaned in slightly.

"Oh, he's just Prince Wu now, of course, the abdication and all." Koemi took a custard tart. "Still a Hou-Ting, though. Can't get around that."

"We never got any of the good gossip up there." Soon-Ja shuddered delicately. "Dismal cold place, in more ways than one. So he's married, yes?" She debated before taking a small cookie.

"Oh yes, his husband's name is Mako. I like him very much." Risa smiled and took the sandwich Jun-Yi offered her.

"One of the best looking men in this city," threw in Xinyi, an heiress to a fortune made by her grandmother in real estate. She snapped open her fan and fanned herself. "Just devastating. Why Wu can't get him to wear something at least slightly revealing I will never know. He could at least do it for us!"

Risa giggled. "Poor Mako's a bit shy, I think. He's quite kind when you get to know him."

"Always so serious! He hardly ever smiles!" Xinyi leaned towards Soon-Ja. "All sort of dark and brooding." She shivered melodramatically. "Legs up to his chin, as well. He used to be a pro-bender, firebender. My husband says he's one of the best around."

Soon-Ja's eyes widened. "Prince Wu married a pro-bender?"

"Former. He's a police detective now, if you can believe it. Brother to Bolin, you know, the famous mover star?" Koemi took a second tart.

"Really! So who were his parents?" Soon-Ja leaned in ever further.

"He was orphaned when he and his brother were small boys. They grew up on the streets, a very sad story. He's a self-made man." Risa took another sip of her tea. "Wu loves him utterly, they are completely devoted to each other."

"Mako's lovely. He does make Wu happy, and he's a good father to the children." Jun-Yi passed a teacup to Tsung-Han. "They've three of them now. Two girls and a boy. Very well-behaved children, they do their parents credit. The oldest girl is quite an accomplished bender, I understand. Didn't you see her Demi Kai last month at Princess Juziya's investiture, Risa?"

Risa nodded. "Yes, Hong and I were there with my parents for the investiture and we went to see it, of course. Naoki was magnificent. Truly. She's quite a gifted firebender, a real prodigy. Zhi and little Meili are darlings as well." She blushed again. "You know, I wasn't sure about getting pregnant but Mako took me for lunch and reassured me quite a great deal about it. He really is sweet."

"Never say that you and Mako..." Xinyi trailed off as Risa scowled.

"Certainly not, and I will thank you not to suggest it. Besides, Hong and I have made no secret of the fact that Hong's brother provided us with the necessary means to have the baby." Risa's chin went up. "I don't prefer men but even if I did, Mako is quite devoted to Wu."

"No doubt about that at all. Not even a whiff of scandal about the two of them lately." Tsung-Han took a sip of his own tea. "It's rather disappointing, actually."

"Oh, but what about that driver of Wu's? Or is he still a driver? I'm not sure. I'm not even sure if he is a he!" Xinyi sat back with a satisfied expression. "There has to be some scandal there!"

"That's Qi," Risa said. "Qi is just Qi...the family doesn't refer to Qi as he or she, just as Qi." She shrugged. "I'm not sure I understand it, but it really doesn't matter if I do or don't. I do like Qi, though." She nibbled on her sandwich.

"Did you see that white jumpsuit he wore at Wu's last party!" Xinyi leaned towards Soon-Ja. "I couldn't believe it. So very daring! So utterly chic! From Wu's driver, no less! I was simply sick with envy!"

"My wife nearly lost her mind when she saw it. It took a lot of cajoling on her part but she finally got Qi to agree to do a photo shoot with it for _Snazzy_. It will be in the issue that comes out next week." Tsung-Han put his finger to his lips. "Not that it is public knowledge or anything, so keep it on the hush, please. She got one of Asami Sato's brand new Satomobiles that literally just came off the line for the photo shoot as well. I've seen the proofs." His smile curved up slowly. "Breathtaking, darlings. I had no idea that Wu's driver could look like that. Amazing what some cosmetics and the right kind of lighting will do for a person."

Risa blinked and lowered her teacup. "Really! I'm rather surprised by that. Qi has always been so very reserved."

Tsung-Han shrugged. "Shiori said she was quite uncomfortable at first. It took a lot to get her relaxed and into the shoot. Although that's quite common with people who aren't models, they aren't used to the process. But once she got over her initial hesitation she really blossomed. She's not at all the type Shiori usually prefers - Qi's so angular, you know, with those severe cheekbones and that long face and neck. But Shiori says that it makes her very versatile. You could literally make her look however you wanted her to." Tsun-Han took another sip of tea. "Shiori paid her, of course, but she told her to give the money directly to Wu's charity."

Jun-Yi tapped her lip absently. "Wu hasn't said a thing about it to me."

"I don't believe Wu knows, actually." Tsung-Han put his finger to his lips again. "On the hush, ladies. On the hush."

Risa sat back against her throw pillow. "My goodness. Well, I look forward to seeing it."

Xinyi thought for a moment. "Isn't he dating Wei Beifong?"

Risa shook her head. "No, I don't think so. I think they are just friends."

"Beifong?"  Soon-Ja paused in the middle of putting the cookie to her mouth. "Related to those Beifongs?"

Jun-Yi nodded. "A son of Suyin Beifong, Toph Beifong's daughter. You know, the matriarch of Zaofu?" At Soon-Ja's nod she continued. "He earthbends for the Zaofu Zorillas pro-bending team."

"He's good," Koemi said. "Gorgeous, too, but he bends for the other team, sad to say."

"Speak for yourself," Tsung-Han said, and that got a laugh from the ladies.

Soon-Ja frowned suddenly. "Aren't we missing Misaki?" At the exchanged glances from the other committee members she put her hand to her mouth. "Oh dear. I've stepped right into it, haven't I?"

Jun-Yi cleared her throat tactfully. "Misaki is no longer a member of the committee. She had some rather...unfortunate...things to say about Wu's children and we thought it best to let her go."

Xinyi snorted. "Oh, we've all had unfortunate things to say on most topics, it wasn't that. It's that she said them to Wu's oldest girl! Right to the child's face!"

Soon-Ja's eyes widened. "She didn't!"

Xinyi shook her head. "She did. And as you all know, I am the worst gossip in Republic City. But I would never even dream of repeating it to a child! Even I have standards!" A murmur of agreement from around the room.

Jun-Yi tsked. "Not only did she say it to little Naoki but she said it in front of Lin Beifong. I don't think I'd have the nerve to say anything derogatory about that family in front of Lin Beifong!"

Xinyi waved her hand in dismissal. "You wouldn't catch me doing it, I can tell you that much. Lin Beifong is a veritable she-dragon!"

Soon-Ja cocked her head. "You mean the police chief? Toph Beifong's other daughter?"

Jun-Yi nodded. "Retired now, but yes. That Lin Beifong. Wu bought the old Beifong mansion from her when he came back to Republic City after he abdicated."

"Such style," sighed Koemi. "He remodeled it completely. I swear that man has more style in his pinkie finger than I have ever even dreamed of having, even with my decorator! That ballroom! Those chandeliers!" She leaned forward towards Soon-Ja. "Not to mention he's personal friends with Huan Beifong and has several of his pieces. I'd kill to get one of those! He hardly ever puts them up for sale." She nodded towards Soon-Ja. "He sells some of his pieces in Ba Sing Se. Kwong's Cuisine was so desperate for one that they sent someone all the way there just to purchase it!"

"Lin helps Wu out with his charity now. Wu told me it was her idea to renovate the old Republic City bank building near the spirit portal into the center for the children." Risa gratefully took another serving of tea, nodding her thanks to Jun-Yi. "It's almost completed. Wu took Hong and me to see it a few weeks ago. It has a library and a kitchen to make meals for the children, plus the top story has cots for the children to sleep in. One of Wu's first street children is going to work there full time as the cook. Cork is his name, he's really quite personable. He studied with Wu's cook for a few years before apprenticing at some of the restaurants in town. Didn't he work for a time with your husband, Koemi?"

Koemi nodded. "He did. Chien thinks well of him. They've made arrangements with him to provide him with all of Kwong's leftover food. You know how Wu is, he's just tireless on behalf of the children." She glanced at Soon-Ja. "Our Wu has a charity he started for the street children. He teaches them to read and write, makes sure they get at least one meal a day. He's quite devoted to it."

Jun-Yi nodded. "He really is a dear man. He goes out of his way to find work for the children as they get older, as well. In fact, I've got one of his little protégés apprenticing with my head gardener right now. And the woman that won the University prize in science last year was Spring, another one of his protégés. She's quite brilliant, I understand. Wu was the one who taught her to read and write and he sponsored her education at the University as well. Her brother Jin-Jin is a doorman at the Four Elements." Jun-Yi smiled. "Wu's very sincere in his efforts to help these children. It's more than lip service for him. I quite genuinely admire him for it."

"He even sent one of his little street rats down to the Southern Water Tribe a few years back to study with Master Kya, a little waterbending girl." At the looks given her way, Xinyi snorted. "What? I don't only deal in negative gossip, you know. Even I have to admire what he does, and you all know I am a terrible cynic."

"Darling, don't go all soft on us now," Tsung-Han waggled his finger at her. "The oldest princess is in the same class with our Keiko at Plumwood Academy. The prince gets tutored at home though, doesn't he?"

Risa nodded. "Wu felt it would be better to tutor Zhi at home." She laughed. "Even I can't keep up with that child. I pity his poor tutor! I am sure she is quite earning her money!"

"Mathuram." Jun-Yi offered another sandwich for Risa. "Darling, do take it, you're eating for two now. Mathuram was a professor at Republic City University until they let her go two years ago. Some scandal about her theory that it is possible to create machines that can think for themselves, much like humans. Can you imagine!" She shook her head. "Everyone knows it's simply impossible and the woman refused to back down! In any case, Wu just recently hired her for Prince Yaozhi. Not my first choice, but you know how Wu is. Once he gets an idea into his head he won't drop it. He told me that he values people who think differently. In any case, she's certainly qualified to educate the boy, despite her odd ways." 

Xinyi rolled her eyes. "Well, when you are a prince I suppose you can hire whomever you like, and who is to argue with you?"

Jun-Yi put her teacup down with a decisive clink. "Well, in any case, you will meet him soon enough, Soon-Ja. He's in charge of decorations, so I think we'll skip over that today since he's not with us. Koemi, did you get that estimate on serving both the tarts as well as the coconut cakes at the reception? No, darling, please swallow first, we'll wait!"


	21. An Unexpected Transfiguration: Modeling for Snazzy Magazine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mako reads a fashion magazine.

Mako walked in the door to the station, his partner Chiyo shaking her head as she lengthened her stride to keep up with him. "No point in trying to go poking around there after dark," she said. "What say you meet me out there around nine tomorrow morning? He should be there by then."

"Yeah, that's fine. Do you..." he trailed off as he saw Lin Beifong perched on one of the desks in the bullpen, smirking at something Ran was saying, Song grinning next to her. 

Chiyo grinned as well. "Hey Chief!" 

Lin looked up and twitched her chin at her. "I'm not the Chief anymore, remember? Can't you assholes get anything right?"

"You'll always be the Chief to us," Song said, meeting her eyes.

Lin snorted. "You people need to get lives or something." Her head cocked to the side. "Well, except for Hiro. He just needs to get laid." There were whoops of laughter from the other cops and Hiro threw an obscene hand gesture her way.

"Cold, Chief! Ice cold!" protested Hiro.

Lin shifted off the desk. "All right, you slackers.  Mako's back, so as long as it's okay with the real chief here, I'm going to grab him before someone else finds something for him to do."

Song jerked his thumb Mako's way, still smiling. "He was officially off duty ten minutes ago. Get the hell out of here, Mako. See you tomorrow."  He clapped a hand to Lin's shoulder. "Don't be a stranger, okay? We miss your crusty old ass over here, believe it or not."

"Sad," Lin shot back, but Mako could tell she was pleased. She nodded towards the door. "Come on. Let me buy you a drink." She walked out of the bullpen, throwing back a wave as good-byes were shouted her way.

"What's wrong? Is it one of the kids? Is it Wu?" Mako frowned, staring down at her. "What happened?"

Lin put a hand on his arm. "Nothing's wrong. The kids are fine. Your husband's fine. No, don't give me that look. Everyone's fine. Come on, we can go to Tao's around the corner." When Mako tried to stop to question her again she gave him a yank. "Slow your damn tits, Mako. Can't I take you for a drink every once in awhile?"

"No," he said, and she rolled her eyes at him, continuing to walk around the corner into Tao's, a neighborhood bar frequented by the police force. "Two whiskeys," she told the bartender, who threw his cloth over his shoulder before reaching for glasses. "Make them doubles while you're at it." Once she'd dropped some yuan on the bar and taken the glasses in her hands, she made her way towards a booth in the back, secluded and quiet. "Let's sit here." They sat down, and she slid his glass across the table. "Bottoms up," she said, clinking her glass against his and taking a swig of her whiskey. 

Mako took a cautious sip, staring at her, his eyes narrowed. "You want to tell me what this is all about? And don't give me any of that just want to have a drink shit, either. I'm not that dumb."

Lin waved her hand dismissively. "Just drink your damn whiskey, Mako. Go on. I'll order us another round and get to it." She waved down the bartender and he brought them two more glasses. Mako drank his first glass down with a sullen pout. "There, did that kill you? You're as damn suspicious as you were when you were nineteen."

"You tossed my ass in jail when I was nineteen for something I didn't do," he said, giving her a glare that could peel paint.

"Look, I told you then it was to keep you out of the way. You know I had my suspicions about Varrick being in bed with the Triple Threats and Viper wouldn't have needed any kind of excuse to come after you for putting your nose in it. That man has no love for you as you damn well know. I'd still like to know what Zolt's got holding over him that he leaves you be."

Mako ignored this to run a hand through his hair. "Fine. Whatever. I drank the damn drink. You want to tell me what this is about?" His face blanched. "Spirits, you aren't sick or anything?" His jaw tensed up. Lin quickly reached across to put her hand on his.

"No. Mako, no. Nothing like that, I swear. Look...I'm sorry, I just wanted to talk to you about something and I wanted some privacy for it. I give you my word that the whole family is fine, and that includes me."

She sat back and gestured at his second drink before she took a hit of her own. "So. You haven't had a chance to take a look at this month's _Snazzy Magazine_ , have you?"

Mako's hand, clutched around his own glass, froze in midair as he stared at her. "I...what?"

She shrugged with a bit of forced nonchalance. "Wu's copy arrived in the mail today."

Mako didn't move. "Okay?" One eyebrow scrolled up slowly.

Lin looked over his shoulder. "Just wondering if you'd seen it, that's all."

Mako's glass hit the table with a thunk. "You thought I was looking at Wu's fashion magazine." It wasn't a question.

"Just a question, Mako, no need to get snippy with me."

"I don't spend a lot of time looking at Wu's fashion magazines. For the record. I'm pretty sure you already know that, though. So. Is there a reason I shouldn't be looking at this one?" His eyes were narrowing again and his knee was starting to jiggle the way it did when he got agitated.

Lin sighed noisily and dug into her bag and pulled out a copy of _Snazzy,_ opening it and sliding it across the table to him. "Page sixty-three," she said, and downed the rest of her whiskey in one gulp.

Mako licked his forefinger and started paging through the magazine, scowling. "I don't...." He stared down at the glossy pages. "The fuck?" He murmured, his eyes widening. 

There, in the pages of Wu's favorite fashion magazine, was Qi. There was text as well; something about Republic City's new style icon, but Mako ignored that to stare at Qi, dressed in the familiar white jumpsuit (the one Mako privately thought of as _his_ jumpsuit), posed on Qi's back, staring up at the camera provocatively from the hood of a Satomobile. The satin spilled and flowed across the expanse of the metal, the black and white of the photo making the shadows alluring, picking up Qi's high, angular cheekbones and caressing the long column of Qi's neck. Qi's arms in the bolero jacket were outstretched and Qi's feet were bare, giving the photo a more intimate quality. Mako swallowed, hard.

"There's more," Lin said, and her voice was resigned. Mako turned the page. Qi was dressed in one of Qi's suits this time; even in black and white Mako knew it was the one that was the subdued blueberry and light grey striped wool. This time Qi was fully dressed; shoes and all. Mako even recognized the tie pin Huan had made. Qi was standing on the running board of the Satomobile, hat cocked at a rakish angle, a cigarette held elegantly in one hand. Mako's own gloved hand slid to the picture on the opposite page, a close up of Qi wearing the same outfit. Qi had on makeup, something that shocked Mako. He'd never seen Qi wear makeup before. Qi's lips were painted some sort of deep glossy color, and there was blush on those cheekbones, Qi's eyes made up to look somehow smoky and smoldering. The juxtaposition with the severe lines of the suit and the trilby hat dipped over one eye was unsettling. Exciting. Wildly attractive. "I...don't..." Mako snatched his hands away.

Lin sighed again. "Last one," she said, and flipped the page herself. This one was taken from the back seat of the Satomobile; Qi was looking back at the photographer in the rearview mirror, Qi's shoulders showing above the line of the driver's seat. Those same said shoulders were bare; Qi had a white camellia tucked behind one ear, and the obvious makeup had been removed. The lighting was brilliant; Qi's hand; the cigarette with the smoke spiraling up; the teasing expression on Qi's face. The mirror showed just enough skin to be interesting, but not enough to disclose gender. It was a brilliant photograph.

Mako met Lin's eyes. "Did you..."

Lin shook her head. "None of us did. Wu had no idea. You can imagine his surprise when it came and he saw the front cover." She reached forward and turned it to show him the cover. It was a painting of Qi, hair slicked back, face made up, in a shirt and tie, suspenders visible over Qi's shirt.

"Qi doesn't wear suspenders," Mako said. He tapped his finger on the painting, looking at Lin with an almost pleading expression in his eyes. "Qi never wears suspenders. Qi always wears belts."

Lin put her hand over his. "It's a fashion shoot, Mako. Not that I've ever done one, mind, but I don't know if it is so much about what Qi wears as it is about the effect."

 _The Transfiguration of Qi_ was the teaser next to Qi on the front cover. _Republic City's New Fashion Icon._ "Since when is Qi a fashion icon?" Mako felt like crying, and he couldn't figure out why. "Qi's just Qi."

"You know that's not true. You know how much Qi loves fashion." Lin's voice was gentle, but firm. "That's been going on for quite some time now. Not the posing for photographs part, but developing a taste for fashion."

"I don't like it," he said, and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Mako. It doesn't matter if you like it or not. It's not your choice to make."

He kept shaking his head, over and over again, the words he wanted escaping him. "Qi just can't...it's not..."

Lin reached forward and took his chin in her hand; it startled him so much he froze in place again, looking right at her. "Mako. I think I have a pretty good idea how you feel about Qi. I was here for Korra, remember? For Asami, and your husband as well. I know you fairly well by now. And I am telling you, you had better figure this out. Because Qi's not that kid following you around like a puppy anymore, hoping for your attention, desperate for any scrap of your praise." The backs of her fingers brushed gently across his cheek, and his throat ached. She took her hand away. "You're always so black and white. You've never done gray very well. You struggle so damn hard to force things to your will that you end up burning everything down and I am telling you, you do not want to do that this time. Do you hear me? This is already done. It's out there. It was out of your hands before you even knew to look to see what was gone. Qi's been running towards who Qi wants to be and you've closed your eyes to it. You can't put Qi back into a box of your own making just because you don't know how to deal with yourself. You pulled this shit on Wu and damn near lost him. Figure it out, and do something about it, damn you." Her fingers grasped his chin firmly this time. "I say this with love, you know."

"I know," he said, miserable. She tapped his chin twice and took her fingers away again and he closed his eyes, bringing his fingers up to pinch at the bridge of his nose.

"Wu made me promise to bring it back in good shape, he wants to show the kids. He also made me promise to pick up at least ten copies on the way home. He wants to mail a copy to Zaofu and to Huan and Ikki, I don't know where all. He was tickled pink over the whole thing, kept gushing on and on about it."

"Where's Qi?"

"Been scarce all day. Maybe back home by now, I don't know." They sat there in silence for awhile, Mako flipping the magazine back to the final picture of Qi, inviting the viewer to speculate about who Qi was. What Qi was. Since when had Qi done that? Qi had always been resigned to people's constant speculation about Qi's gender, mostly choosing to just ignore it as best as Qi could, staying in the shadows. These photographs, however, were different. They were playful; an acknowledgement of Qi's refusal to bow down to convention, an open acceptance of who Qi had always been. They were sexy, too; the photographer had made Qi look glamorous as well as mysterious, appealing to everyone. Mako knew next to nothing about fashion, but these photographs were good.

It wasn't that Qi hadn't always known who Qi was. Even on that first day, when he had hauled Qi into the station and Qi had sat at his desk, eating the lunch Wu had brought, Qi had known who Qi was. Qi had been hungry and desperate, true. But always so damned determined. Qi in Wu's too large old bathing suit, legs and arms thrashing in the water, determined to learn to swim. Qi in Yumi's dojo, spinning with those knives, determined that no one would ever lay a hand on Wu ever again. Qi sitting with Meili, reading her favorite picture book, determined to be a part of the children's lives. This was just another step down Qi's path, and Mako knew it was no accident. It never was, with Qi.

Was Qi walking away, though? Was that where Qi's path led? Away from their family, away from their home, away from the past nine years? Away from _him_?

He was horrified to realize that a single tear had slid down his cheek. He flicked a look at Lin to see if she had noticed; of course she had. She sighed. "Oh, Mako." She took his scarred hand in her own, her fingers tightening gently around the leather of his glove. "Why do you always have to make everything so damn hard on yourself?"

"Why do you?"

That got him a smile. "If I ever figure it out, I'll let you know." She stood, sliding the magazine across the table and back into her bag. "You think you can manage to walk in our front door without losing your cool?" At his nod she nodded back. "All right. Let's stop by the news kiosk on the way back to your car to pick up those copies for Wu. I took a cab in so I could catch a ride home with you." Mako silently offered her his arm and she took it. "LoLo's making komodo chicken for dinner tonight."

"That supposed to be some kind of bribe for my good behavior?"

"Sure, why not?" She gave his arm a squeeze and they headed for the door.


	22. A Nocturnal Discourse: Wu Shares Some Family History

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wu gives Mako a history lesson.

Wu sat in bed and waited, listening to the water turn on and then off. Six times. Thirteen years he'd known this man - all but two of them living together - and the only time Mako took longer in the bathroom than Wu was when Mako was trying to avoid him.

Wu sighed. Dinner had been fine. Qi had materialized right as it was about to be served. The children had already seen the magazine; Zhi had wanted to know why Qi had taken off Qi's clothes in the car (Wu was pretty sure Lin had given LoLo a swift kick under the table to stop his inevitable guffaw) and Naoki had been full of encouragement, begging a copy that she could take to school the next day to show off. Meili was so starstruck by having someone she knew in a fashion magazine that she kept proclaiming that Qi was pretty with little rapturous sighs. Mako had kept quiet, just eating steadily. Which was fairly normal behavior for Mako anyhow; he never had been one to chit-chat when there was food to be eaten. Qi had kept shooting Mako nervous looks out the corner of Qi's eyes, though. It had been up to Wu to keep up the conversation, but that was nothing he couldn't handle. He could chatter the hind leg off an ostrich horse regardless of any situation.

He thought the photographs were amazing, in more ways than one. He'd been saying for years now that Qi's fashion sense had far surpassed his own; there was no question in his mind that Qi was a connoisseur of style. Not to mention that it wasn't _Wu_ who had been ignoring Qi's efforts to come out of the shadows. Hadn't he helped Qi practice with the elocution lessons? Hadn't he gently insisted that Qi move into the house itself? Hadn't he given Qi the family crest to wear? He'd even ordered Qi a brand new Satomobile of Qi's own for Qi's birthday the next month. Asami was pulling out all the stops on it, putting in some sort of new fast engine; the details of it went right over Wu's head but he knew Qi would appreciate it. It was high time Qi had Qi's own car. Qi both deserved and needed independence. 

The bathroom door finally opened and Mako walked towards the bed, making his best effort to appear casual. His best effort was terrible, of course, but Wu wasn't about to point it out. 

"Yumi's going on holiday next month, by the way. She told me today. She'll give a list of exercises for Naoki to follow, but it's probably better if you supervise her rather than me."

Mako crawled into bed. "Yeah, okay. Where's she going?" 

"Sojourn in the spirit world with Korra. Apparently Korra has some business there or something and Yumi is going to tag along."

"Yeah, Korra mentioned it to me the other day. Some sort of issue at the Northern Spirit Portal."

"There you have it."

There was a silence while Wu turned off his bedside light and the two of them got themselves situated.

"Have I ever told you about my grandfather? The paternal one, I mean. I only know what Chun's told me about my maternal grandparents."

"Uh...I guess? I know the basics." Mako's tone was slightly confused.

"Mmmm," Wu said, and he snuggled closer to put his head on Mako's chest, Mako's arms automatically going around him. "Well. He was twelve years younger than Hou-Ting. My great-aunt, that is. Apparently my great-grandmother spent most of her time in her own home all the way across the palace from my great-grandfather. They didn't see all that much of each other."

"It was that bear thing, wasn't it? The bear thing is weird, Wu."

"You don't know the half of it. I only wish we still had his journals around. In any case, my grandfather was apparently a little bit of a surprise. Perhaps my great-grandmother was feeling charitable after the bear finally died, I don't know. But he was raised properly with nannies and tutors and such, much the same as I was. When he came of age, he was married off. By coming of age, I mean he was fourteen."

"What?" Mako shifted.

"That's how it was done. Don't get me wrong, the girl in question was only ten. There was no question of consummating it at that point, of course. But she was brought to the palace and raised under the strict supervision of my great-grandmother. She left her entire family behind, including her twin sister. It must have been very difficult for her. She wasn't even from Ba Sing Se, she was the daughter of the Governor of the Shang Province. A very old and noble family, and politically speaking it was a good match."

"Ten? They married her off when she was ten? Shit. I think of Naoki and...well. Anyhow. Go ahead with your story."

"For whatever reason, she and my grandfather didn't get along. Well. That's an understatement of gross proportions. They loathed each other, apparently. I'm not sure why. My great-grandfather wrote about it in his journal but he didn't speculate about the reasons, just talked about how he thought it might be better to dissolve the marriage and send the girl back home. He brought it up with my great-grandmother and she was adamant the girl stayed and Guang - that was my great-aunt before she took the throne - backed her up. Meanwhile, my grandfather, Zaichun - that was his name, Zaichun - declared he hated her and wouldn't stay married to her. His mother informed him that he was fourteen years old and had no choice in the matter and that he would do what he was told and be quiet about it. So he ran away."

"He ran away! I never heard about that!"

"Well, it's not like they broadcast it! Anyhow, he somehow managed to get himself to the lower ring, do not ask me how."

"That's a hell of a long way. I've done it. I'm pretty impressed with your fourteen year old grandfather."

"Me too. In any case, while he was down there apparently he met a girl around his age whom he took a great liking to. She took him in and hid him and they swore they were going to run off together. Alas for true love! The Dai Li found him and dragged him back to the palace in disgrace. He was officially reprimanded by his mother as well as his older sister. Which was fairly unpleasant, I am sure. In any case, they tried to get the names of whomever it was that had hidden him in order to punish them and he refused to give them up. He promised that if they would leave the commoners alone that he would never say another word about being married to the governor's daughter. So they didn't pursue the matter and when they were deemed old enough then Zaichun consummated his marriage as promised."

"Let me just state again for the record that I am really glad I'm not royalty."

"I should say not. So in any case, Zaichun did his duty but the two of them couldn't stand each other. From what I understand they lived in totally different parts of the palace and she would be brought to his rooms at times that were deemed the most fertile and when they were finished the Dai Li would escort her back."

"That's just about the saddest thing I've ever heard. Spirits, Wu."

Wu was quiet for a moment. "That would have been me, you know. They had already started bringing potential brides to the Palace for me to look over before the Red Lotus came." He stirred in Mako's arms. "But anyhow. Moving on a few years. Zaichun had not impregnated his wife Xiaozheyi. Things had gotten so bad between the two of them that one of my great-grandmother's ladies-in-waiting was always in the royal bedchamber when she was brought there to ensure that Zaichun was actually doing the deed, as it were."

"Wait, wait, wait. Someone watched them?"

"And inspected afterwards, as well. To make sure."

"Wu!"

"Royalty is not all it's cracked up to be. I've been telling you this for years. Anyhow. One day, Zaichun was taking his daily stroll in the gardens, when he was approached by a kitchen maid. Which is...just not something that happens. I can't begin to tell you. It simply was never done. She was quite literally risking her life by doing it. Long story short, it was Yu, the girl he had met ten years prior, when he had run away. The one who had sheltered him. She had managed to wrangle herself a position in the royal kitchens in the hopes of seeing him. He immediately demanded that she was promoted to concubine status. Which was also simply not done, you have to understand. Concubines were from good and noble families, usually. It was, after all, an honored position! But he put his foot down and she was promoted."

"I'm guessing this did not go over well with his wife."

"You would be guessing right on that one. And worse, Yu was pregnant within six months of being made his concubine. At that point they had no choice but to promote her to Imperial Consort Yu."

"Oh boy."

"Indeed. And that was my father, of course. In revenge Xiaozheyi demanded that he become her son, which she had the legal right to do. There was nothing either Zaichun or Yu could do about it. And you know what happened to him. Xiaozheyi ruined him. He was barely literate. Opium smoker, drank like a fish, beat his servants and his sexual appetite was legendary and not in a good way, either. Gun told me he was assassinated when I was five to keep him off the throne. Which is how things go as well. All in the life of a Hou-Ting!"

"How did you turn out as nice as you did?"

"Hmmmm. I wasn't very nice when you first met me, was I? You helped a lot with that." Wu smiled as Mako squeezed him. "My great-aunt never had children, of course. She officially adopted me as her son once my father was dead, it made the whole inheritance thing cut and dried, another one of those normal things for the royal family, various children were adopted by other family members for various reasons of succession, that sort of thing. So by birth she was my great-aunt but by Earth Kingdom law she was my mother. Not that I ever referred to her by anything but Hou-Ting, I can assure you!" Wu shuddered slightly. "Now, Hou-Ting was married when she was seventeen but her husband died less than a year after they were married and she point blank refused to marry again. According to my great-grandfather's journals she and her mother would regularly have screaming matches over this. Personally, I think everyone but her mother was so terrified of her that no one was going to argue with her over it."

"Do you suppose she offed her own husband?"

"I would not at all have put it past her."

"So it was a love match between your grandparents?"

Wu nodded against Mako's chest. "Yes. My grandfather died of some kind of brain seizure three years before I was born and my grandmother followed him within a month. No one was ever very clear how she died. I still don't really know. Xiaozheyi died of an opium overdose when I was about twelve. I have absolutely no memory of her at all. None. Gun told me years later that I was presented to her once as an infant; she was wholly uninterested in me and never saw me again. She didn't even live in the Palace proper, she lived off in a royal summer residence on the other side of Lake Laogai."

"You still own that, by the way."

"Do I!"

"Yep."

"Oh. Am I doing anything with it?"

"No, it's got caretakers, but other than that it's empty."

"I had no idea. Thank goodness you keep up with these things for me. I suppose I should do something with it at some point. Hmmm. Anyhow. Back to my grandfather. I haven't even gotten into the other consorts. My grandfather's, I mean. He had two others after my grandmother; political connections, for the most part. No one that Xiaozheyi cared about, she probably didn't even think them worth her time. They all had their own residences in the Palace. Actually, one of them was always nice to me. Wen. She died of natural causes the year before the Red Lotus came. I visited her once a month and she always gave me candy and let me pet her poodle monkey, which she somehow managed to keep out of Hou-Ting's clutches. I'm glad she was gone before the city fell. Spirits know what would have happened to her otherwise. She was just a sweet old woman. Sometimes she told me stories about my grandparents. She and my grandmother - Yu, I mean - got along quite well, I believe."

"So your grandfather had four wives? Seriously? I didn't even know about the other two."

"Mmmm. Wen and Ji. Ji was still alive when the Red Lotus came but she was visiting her family at the time and escaped. I still write her twice a month, you know, send her photographs of the children, that sort of thing. She writes to me as well. We're not particularly close as far as those things go."

"I had no idea. You've never mentioned her before."

Wu shrugged. "Well, I hardly remember her, she went back to visit with her family when I was six and just never returned to the palace. I correspond with her because...well." He laughed a little. "I suppose because I was raised to understand it was my duty. Old habits die hard. But Mako, my great-grandfather Kuei had two other consorts besides my great-grandmother, and it was a scandal at the time. People couldn't understand why he had so few wives! He was the king, it's what was done. He had four other children besides my great-aunt and my grandfather with his consorts. Only two of them lived to adulthood and one of them was married off to the King of Omashu. Princess Gayatri and I are related, you know. The other one never married, he became a royal liaison to the Fire Nation. If you study Earth Kingdom history you will see centuries-worth of wrangling in the Palace over who would be king or queen amongst the royal children. There were a great many _accidental_ deaths in that place, let me tell you. Why do you think Hou-Ting was so restrictive of me? Once she'd made up her mind that I was her heir she was smart and ruthless enough to get rid of my competition one way or the other. My grandfather had other children with Wen but she apparently kept miscarrying, it was very sad. Gun told me about it when I was dismantling the monarchy, he was around for all of this, you know. He also told me Ji didn't prefer men and my grandfather respected that, which says something about him. Most royal husbands wouldn't have. Although he and Ji were great friends, they loved to play Pai Sho, apparently."

They were silent for a time, Wu breathing in Mako's familiar and beloved scent. "These things...I know they seem so odd to you. But it's how I grew up. It is as normal for me as your little house with your parents was for you. Republic City and its customs are foreign things for me, you know. I've adapted as best I can, but I'll always be a refugee here."

Mako's fingers stroked along his hair absently. "Yeah. It makes sense. I guess I really don't think about it all that much. I mean, I know you grew up differently than me, of course. I just usually think of it being about money instead of family drama."

"Did you just refer to the royal consorts of Prince Zaichun of the Exalted and Imperial House of Hou-Ting as _family drama_?" That got a little laugh out of Mako and Wu smiled to himself. "Well. Anyhow. I should let you sleep, you've got work tomorrow. I just wanted you to know that as far as I am concerned, royals having more than one consort is normal. It's what I grew up with. In fact, having only one spouse is actually a little odd to me. Not wrong, mind. But it isn't what I am used to. Just something to keep in mind, hmmm? I am not likely to react to certain things the way that someone who grew up in Republic City might." He shifted in Mako's arms to kiss Mako's cheek. "I do love you, Prince Consort Mako Hou-Ting." Gently, he eased his head back to his own pillow and snuggled himself down into the covers, closing his eyes.

It was a long time before Mako went to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I've mentioned before on [Tumblr](http://ourimpavidheroine.tumblr.com/), I have done quite a deal of research on the emperors of China from about 1800 going forward. There is an absolute wealth of delicious scandal involved there; it is a writer's dream. You can believe that many of Wu's stories about his family have been taken straight from the pages of actual Chinese history!


	23. A Secluded Unveiling: The Imperial Hunting Lodge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wu and Qi go on a little adventure.

"So you can find it?"

"I can read a map, Wu."

"Well, I certainly can't!"

"That's why I'm the one driving. And before you ask, yes, I remembered the lunch. And the blanket. And the umbrellas in case it rains."

Wu beamed at Qi from the passenger's seat. "It's like an adventure!"

Qi shifted gears and smiled. "If you say so."

"Anything could be out there!"

"I thought you said it was a house." Qi passed another car and turned northeast on the road that would lead them out of Republic City.

"Well, I might remind you that I call our house a house and whenever I do it you roll your eyes at me."

Qi took Qi's eyes off the road to deliberately roll them at Wu before looking back at the road again, smirking a little. "Is that your idea of a suit you can go exploring in?"

Wu looked down at his suit. "What? It's brown, isn't it? I thought it might get dirty. Brown doesn't show dirt, right? Qi Hou-Ting! You stop laughing at me this very instant!"

They drove for nearly two and a half hours, Qi pulling over twice to consult the map they'd brought, once backtracking in reverse for ten minutes to turn a different way. They finally bumped their slow way down a rutted dirt road that eventually led to a tall stone wall, still in fairly good condition. It was split in the middle with an iron gate, centered with the sigil of the Earth Monarchy, blanketed in rust. "This must be it," Qi said, hopping out of the car to study the gate. "It's locked, though." 

Wu came to stand there as well. "Gracious. I never even thought about it. I don't think anyone's been out here since my great-great-grandfather's day. I didn't even know anything about it until I went through those old deeds in my office. I realized I had no clear idea of what I owned and what I didn't beyond the obvious."

"Imperial Hunting Lodge, hmm?" Qi frowned at the lock. "I can either try to break it or we could climb over the wall."

Wu's eyes widened as he looked up at the wall. "Well, goodness, I can't attempt that thing! You could, but certainly not me. Well, just break it, I suppose. We can always get someone out here to fix it later."

"Hang on." Qi tossed the newsboy cap Qi was wearing back into the car before grabbing at the wall, boots scrabbling until they found toeholds in the rocks. Qi scaled up the wall and then dropped to the other side, hitting the ground with a thud and a roll.

"Oh, Qi! Are you all right?" Wu peered anxiously through the metal bars. Qi waved at him, and frowning, reached inside a niche in the rock, straining a bit with the effort. With a horrible screeching noise the gate began to open. "Oh, you are so clever! Here, I can get through now." Wu walked into the property and dusted himself off a bit.

"How far does the driveway go?" Qi shaded Qi's eyes with a hand and peered into the forested gloom. "I don't see any sign of the house. Are you sure it's still here?"

"I'm not sure about any of this. The only reason I knew it was the Imperial Hunting Lodge at all is because I remember something Kuei had written in his journals about it. I think it was completely abandoned when Kuei's father was assassinated and that was over a hundred years ago." He trotted after Qi as Qi started to walk down the weed-choked drive. "I don't believe this was even meant for cars, was it?"

Qi's head shook. "No, this is all cobblestone, meant for ostrich horses and carriages. There weren't any cars in your grandfather's time, never mind any earlier than that. Here, hang on a tick." Qi jogged back and returned with the picnic basket in hand. "Don't know how long we'll be here, may as well bring the food. This is pretty wild out here. Watch for snakes." Qi started back down the drive.

"Surely you are jesting! Qi! Qi! Oh, Qi, I can't abide snakes! Qi!" Wu hurriedly followed along after.

It took a good twenty minutes of walking before they finally spotted the house through the trees, the driveway opening into an expansive courtyard. It was a large place; not quite as capacious as the mansion in Republic City, but big enough to still be imposing. The single-storied edifice was built of stone with the traditional curved wooden roof; covered with moss and rotting leaves but seemingly intact. The grand front door to the lodge was overgrown, the iron bands around the wood as rusty as the gates had been. "Hmmm," Qi said, inspecting it. "Let's see if there's another entrance a little easier to access. It looks okay from here, but who knows about the roof." They walked around the house, passing a large stone stable and what looked like the remains of the servants' quarters, walking until they came to a door on the side, clear of vines for the most part. Qi put down the basket and wrestled with it for a few moments before it opened, the wooden door swollen and warped with years worth of water damage. "Well, the wood's not in such good shape, but I guess that's to be expected. Mind yourself, now."

It was the door into the kitchens, a huge space, with old copper pots and pans still hanging from the ceiling and a large wooden worktable in the middle of the room. Qi whistled. "Look at that. LoLo would keel right over if he saw all of this." Qi ran a hand along the table and sneezed at the violent cloud of dust that followed. "Doesn't seem to be any water damage in here so I guess the roof is okay in the kitchen at least." Qi walked over to the enormous fireplace, big enough to fit the car they'd driven up in. "Don't want to think what's up this chimney, though. Well, let's go take a peek around. But you stay right behind me, okay? Last thing I need is for you to go through a hole in the floor or something." Qi left the basket on the table and took Wu's hand, pulling him along.

They wandered through the house, Qi making sure to keep a eye on Wu the entire time. It was filthy, but short of some readily apparent water damage in one of the bedrooms the roof seemed to be fairly solid. The furniture had been left uncovered and most of it that had fabric had been destroyed by mice over the years. The smell was pungent and both of them were sneezing and coughing with the dust they were raising just by walking around. Qi finally made use of their handkerchiefs, typing them around both of their mouths and noses. The grand room in the center of the lodge featured a collection of animal heads mounted on the walls, something at which Wu shuddered and Qi scowled. "Best just to burn those," Qi said, head shaking in disgust. "I never could understand the point of it." Qi's hands were fisted on Qi's hips. "One thing I'll give them, though, when they built this place they built it to last. It's a mess, but the building is still good, as far as I can tell. The windows seem to have held up for the most part and there doesn't seem to be any signs of any large animals getting in, never mind any people. I wonder how long its been since anyone has been here?" Qi kicked at a moldy armadillo-lion skin on the floor. "I guess you'd need to replace the roof. Well, I'd want to replace all of the wood, not just the roof. The doors and such are in pretty bad shape, they haven't really held up like the stone has." Qi sneezed again. "You want to go look at the stables? And then we can have our lunch outside. I don't want to eat in here, too much dust. Although Zhi would have a field day, plenty of specimens."

"I'm trying very hard not to think about all of the specimens, thank you very kindly," Wu said, following Qi out the kitchen door, towards the stables. Qi managed to get the door open and it was much of the same as the house, with the added addition of plenty of rotted hay and old leather tack falling to pieces. "It'd be a job to clean out, but if you had ostrich horses it'd be a good place for them. It'd be fairly easy to convert into a garage, too, if you wanted to skip the livestock all together." They wandered back outside, Qi grunting a bit while forcing the door shut again before turning around and tugging the handkerchief away, breathing in the fresh air. "Hey! There's a pump. I wonder if the water's still good?" Qi put down the picnic basket and shucked off Qi's leather jacket, rolling up Qi's sleeves and starting to prime the pump. Qi grinned at Wu. "Haven't used one of these in years. There's still plenty of places in the city that don't have running water. I never grew up with it, I can tell you that much."

Wu pulled the blanket out of the top of the picnic basket, laying it carefully over a grassy area next to the stables. He sat down gingerly, taking off his hat and fanning himself with it. Qi was pulling hard at the pump handle, still grinning, uttering soft exhalations at it with plenty of profanity sprinkled in. Wu found himself grinning back. Qi looked happy here, despite the smudge of rust across one hand and a bit of cobweb stuck in Qi's hair. Wu had always thought of Qi as part and parcel of the City; Mako was a city boy, certainly, and was never all that comfortable in the countryside. Wu knew he certainly wasn't. But there was something here, something in the quality of the clean air and the unfiltered sunshine, with the green of the forest that had been encroaching on the lodge for a hundred years that suited Qi. Maybe it was the quiet, the stillness only broken by birdsong and the whine of a grasshopper nearby. Qi had always been quiet; the damaged voice, of course, but also the silence Qi always carried on Qi's person. Even in photographs Qi had hidden depths, much like the land around them.

The pump let out with a deep rattling groan and shuddered; a few seconds later some rather dirty looking water trickled out. "There it is!" said Qi, obviously excited. "The pipes are probably full of muck but once it rinses that out we can see what we can see." Qi kept pumping away, and Wu watched with interest as the water gained volume and, over the course of a few minutes, gradually started to clear. "Didn't LoLo pack us some cups?" Qi asked, nodding at the basket, and Wu fished around until he found one, standing up and bringing it to Qi. "Let's see." Qi filled it and cautiously took a sip and then a large swallow. "Oh, it's good! The water's still good. You never know, wells can dry up or go bad. You want to try?"

Wu took the cup and tasted it. The water was teeth-chatteringly icy, and very good indeed. "It's so cold!" he sputtered, and Qi laughed.

"It means the well is good and deep. I don't know if it would withstand putting actual plumbing in here, you'd have to bring in someone who knows how to do all of that. But at least there's water." They sat back down on the blanket and Wu started to take things out of the basket, laying them down neatly. "How much property does this place have anyhow?"

"Oh, according to the deed there's about twenty thousand acres of land. All of this forest area belongs to the property. That's why there aren't any villages or anything nearby. This area used to belong to the Earth Kingdom, of course. I'm not sure if the Fire Nation ever made it this far inland when they invaded and colonized the area. They claimed a lot of land they hadn't actually even taken, there was a whole to-do while my great-grandfather and Firelord Zuko and Avatar Aang worked it all out. It's just barely in the United Republic's borders now, however."

Qi was staring at him. "That's...a lot of land. A lot of damn land. What's it all worth, anyhow?"

Wu shrugged. "I have no idea. You know you have to ask Mako about that kind of thing." Wu waved his arm. "It's mostly forest, although there is apparently a small lake somewhere around here that belongs to the property as well. They used to use it for hunting, remember, so it hasn't been really cleared for farming or anything. I wouldn't be surprised if people had built along the edges of it, though, seeing as it has been so long since anyone's been here to claim it. I suppose that's something you'd have to clear up with lawyers and such." He shrugged again. "I pay people to do that sort of thing for me."

Qi was quiet for a moment, fiddling with a pair of chopsticks. "What do you plan on doing with it?"

"Ah. Well, that's the thing. It's not really what I plan on doing with it. It's what you plan on doing with it." At Qi's baffled look, Wu smiled. "You see, I'm giving it to you."

Qi was silent for a long moment, staring into Wu's eyes. "Why are you doing that?"

"Don't you want it?"

Qi raised an eyebrow. "Don't answer my question with a question of your own. That slippery business of yours works on your husband, not me. Why are you trying to give me this property?"

"Trying, am I?" At Qi's look Wu threw up his hands in defeat. "Fine. I'll tell it your way, then. So. I have consulted with my lawyers about how to officially make you a part of the Hou-Ting family. In Ba Sing Se it would be enough for me to give you the crest; we don't live in Ba Sing Se, however, so there is legal paperwork to be considered. There are three choices. The first one would be to have another Hou-Ting bring you into the family as my cousin or sibling. That one is clearly out since, insofar as I know, I am the only adult Hou-Ting left living. The second choice would be for me to officially adopt you as my child. Which is odd, considering our respective ages, but it wouldn't be the first time it had ever happened, of course. The sticky issue there is that...well, to be blunt, you'd become the Hou-Ting heir. You're not a bender and you are older than Zhi."

Qi took a deep breath and let it out. "I do not want to be your heir. Ever. That's for Zhi. Cut that one right on out."

"I had assumed that would be your answer, actually."

"Too right it would be. So what's the other choice?"

Wu dropped his eyes and started to fiddle with the basket, re-arranging the things on the blanket. Qi sighed again.

"It's for me to marry you, isn't it?" Wu's eyes flew up to meet Qi's, startled wide. Qi let out with a gritty little laugh. "I might not be the detective in the family but I'm not stupid, you know. I've read all of your books about these things. I'm right, aren't I?"

Wu's hands fluttered nervously. "It's not a necessity, of course. As members of the Hou-Ting family Mako and the children get an annual stipend and I've settled certain properties and such on them, it's what is done. You don't need to be legally connected for me to do the same. And as I said, in Ba Sing Se it's enough I've given you the crest, it's just Republic City, or the United Republic's laws I should say-"

"Now you're babbling," Qi said mildly, cutting him off. Qi snorted. "Well, this is all sort of royal, isn't it? No romance, just get down to business, sign the contracts. Hand over the land. Nothing personal, just the legalities."

Wu was quiet, staring at the wedding ring on his hand. "The King of the Earth Kingdom shouldn't wear a wedding ring. We're considered above such trinkets to denote our marital status. Our word is law; we can promote or demote a consort at any time. Well, in theory, anyhow. It's considered a huge insult to demote an actual consort and you'd risk a great deal of political upheaval if you did so. It was far easier to stash away the out of favor consort in the far reaches of the Palace and leave them there to rot in opulence, of course." Wu's smile was melancholy. "I wear this ring because Mako had it made for me and it's beautiful and I love it and I love him. I don't wear it because I feel an obligation to do so. That's not how I was raised. I bought Mako his ring because I wanted to please him and I wanted to embrace the customs of Republic City since this is my new home." Wu raised his eyes to Qi. "Everything I do here is based on someone else's customs, someone else's laws. My entire way of life is gone. Sometimes I feel like I've been erased. And worse, I'm the one who erased myself. It was my choice to give it all up, I know. It's my own fault. I still feel it was the right thing to do, but sometimes I long for my home, for everything that was familiar and right to me. Just because I don't talk about it doesn't mean I don't feel that way." 

"I'm sorry." Qi's voice was a whisper. 

Wu nodded in acknowledgement. "It is what it is. I'm not unhappy, you know. Well. Nothing I can't bear, anyhow." He smiled through sudden tears. "I try not to dwell on it. But Qi...I am so careful not to make decisions for you. I try very hard. You are not the same as Mako. Mako was never made to be alone, despite what I think he believed all along. Mako was desperate for a family, for stability, for a home. I was those things for him. I hope to always be those things to him. I have loved him since the moment I met him, although in the beginning it was a selfish boy's one-sided love. I took him for granted and never thought of his happiness. It worked out for us eventually, but I hope I learned my lesson there. The thing is, Qi..." Wu took a deep breath, "...I think you are desperate for a family as well. Home. Stability. I've tried so hard to make these things available for you without pushing you into them, manipulating you. Seducing you, as it were." Wu laughed a little. "I'm not sure how well I've succeeded. Mako's right, I am imperious. Well, that's just who I am. I don't know that it will ever change. I do my best. But I am excruciatingly aware that what I am doing right now is, in its own way, a trap of love."

"I don't feel trapped."

Wu fished in the basket for a clean napkin and dabbed at his eyes. "I do hope not. You are your own person, Qi. You deserve love and happiness on your own terms. We will always be your family. Always. It doesn't need to be legal under Republic City's laws, and it hasn't been, for that matter. Your relationship with the children isn't legal, but Zhi and Meili have only ever known you as another parent to them. Naoki is a little older, but I do believe she sees you as a mix between a parent and a older sibling, perhaps. But those relationships, you've built on your own." Wu smoothed the napkin across his lap and met Qi's eyes again. "Qi, you are not, as you say, stupid. I know you are aware of how my husband feels about you, even if he hasn't figured it all out for himself. Oh, why mince words? He wants you, of course, that's plain to anyone with eyes. Including your eyes, and now you're blushing! Well, you do like to be blunt, Qi, so I am just trying to communicate that way with you."

"Doing a bang up job with it," Qi said, hands spread across cheeks flushed with mortification. 

"I don't care, you know. I told Mako a few weeks ago...well. I told him a long story about the historical background of the various marriages of the royal family because I love that man, but if I spoke to him the way I am speaking to you right now he'd shout at me and then run off to set things on fire and utterly refuse to address the subject ever again. Never say I don't know my own husband."

That got a little laugh from Qi. "I won't argue with you there."

"Mmmm. I should say not. The thing is...I don't care. Republic City might be utterly scandalized but Ba Sing Se wouldn't bat an eye so long as the proper forms were followed. Per Ba Sing Se's customs you both belong to me, so it wouldn't even be worth speculating over. It'd be considered par for the course. Only if you were my concubine or consort, however. If that were the case there would simply be no scandal at all." Wu shrugged. "I have to say I've never understood all of the fuss Republic City makes over that sort of thing. If the nobility of Ba Sing Se were to get worked up and divorced every single time a husband or wife procured a new concubine then no one in the Upper Ring would be married at all!" Wu leaned in. "Lin's grandmother only kicked out her grandfather because he refused to give the women he was sleeping with official concubine status. That was considered low-class." Wu made a little mou of distaste. "Imagine! A concubine is an honored position, you know. It comes with rights and certain expectations of gifts of money or jewels or land, depending on the wealth of the noble involved. To not elevate your lover to the status of concubine is the scandal where I come from. It spoke very poorly of Lin's grandfather, really." Wu shrugged. "Well, I know it sounds odd to you, growing up where you have. But it's what I grew up with. The truth of it is that I don't care if you and Mako want to sleep with each other. But I couldn't possibly let it happen under my roof unless you were given a certain status. I just...I couldn't, Qi. It would be dishonorable to me as well as the House of Hou-Ting." Wu spread his hands out. "Can you understand that?"

Qi was quiet, thinking, before slowly nodding. "I think I understand. It'd be like giving someone a job but not paying them for it." 

Wu sat back. "Well, that's a bit oversimplified, but it's the general idea, yes." Wu sighed. "If we were in Ba Sing Se I'd proclaim you my concubine and all would be well. If you later wished to leave me for another then we'd dissolve the verbal contract, I would give you the expected gifts, and you'd move on to another. All very day-to-day. No one would blink an eye, even though I am royal. Republic City is another kettle of fish, however. You know that concubines are not necessarily respected here. People consider it an affair, a tawdry thing. I don't give a damn what people think of me, but I won't have you or Mako tarnished that way. If I made you my consort, however, it would be acceptable in both places. Republic City looks a bit askance at more than one spouse, but it isn't illegal and it's fairly common amongst the refugees and immigrants from Ba Sing Se, at least. There might be a bit of a scandal, but it would die down fairly quickly. And, most importantly, you'd be legally protected." Wu leaned forward to place his hand on Qi's, his face serious. "If you ever wanted to, I would release you from your contract. I give you my word as a Hou-Ting."

"It's not very romantic, is it?" Qi's eyes were full of tears.

"Qi. My darling. My love. If romance is what you want, then I promise you all of the romance in the world. Well, from me, anyhow, when Mako hears about this he will shout at me for months, you realize."

Qi laughed a little, despite the tears. "Could I have a big wedding?"

Wu laughed outright. "The very biggest wedding my extremely lavish fortune could manage. No limits at all. Whatever your rapacious little street rat heart desired."

"Dancing badgermoles?"

"Need you even ask?"

Qi dashed at the tears with the napkin Wu considerately handed over. "I have to think about it, okay?"

Wu nodded. "I don't want an answer today. I want you to consider it and give me the answer you want to give me, not the answer you think I want. We can discuss it more later, as well. This is not something I am doing on impulse, you realize."

Qi nodded back. "I know."

"And this is still yours. Regardless of whatever you decide. It's not a bribe and it's not a gift. It is a proper acknowledgement that you are a member of the Hou-Ting family. You may do with it whatever you please. Sell it, leave it alone, fix it up. It is up to you. I've already had the deed put into your name and filed by my lawyers."

"Okay."

"Okay indeed. Now. LoLo has packed us this lovely lunch and I think we should eat it. Or at least I should. I believe I smell dumplings."

"Wu?"

Wu was frowning at one of the packages. "Yes?"

"I haven't...um. I mean to say..." Qi was fumbling a bit, a very unusual circumstance. "I...um..." Qi's face was taking on color again. "It's just...I haven't..."

"Ah," said Wu, focusing on untying one of LoLo's nautical knots. "Are you trying to tell me that you haven't actually had sex with anyone? I had assumed that. You've always shied away from that sort of thing." He quickly brought his head up, his eyes wide. "My gracious, I do hope you realize that it is not a requirement! Qi, I most heartily apologize if I did not make that clear. Of course sex is not required. Under no circumstances. I would never dream of it. Never. I beg your pardon, it was carelessly done of me. I could put it in the marriage contract if that would ease your mind."

Qi's face was pressed into Qi's knees. "Please someone just kill me now and put me out of my misery."

"Obviously whatever agreement you came to with Mako would be between the two of you but I hope you know that Mako would certainly never put his oar in where it was not wanted, so to speak."

"Oh spirits," Qi mumbled, refusing to look up.

"Although I can only recommend him. He was my first and he was extremely considerate and very reassuring about the whole thing." Wu smiled fondly at the memory. "Also, he was quite a good sport about roleplaying a sandbender in the shower with me. Oh, and being a Triad boss. That was a lot of fun. It wasn't the last time, either. He does make a very convincing and thrillingly dastardly Triad Boss, you can believe me!"

"Stop," begged Qi. "Please."

Wu started to laugh. "Oh, I am sorry, Qi. I don't mean to embarrass you, I promise. If he were here Mako would probably dump cold water on my head. Never mind. Ah! There goes that knot. I can never seem to convince LoLo that we are not, as it happens, on board a ship and I do not know how to manage all of his twists and turns!"

"It's just..." Qi plucked at a blade of grass on the border of the blanket. "It wasn't...I told you before that I born to a whore, right?"

Wu put the basket down. "Yes. You did."

Qi shrugged, still staring down at the ground. "And she died when I was about two. I don't remember her. At all. But I lived there until I was nine. In the brothel, I mean." Qi quickly met Wu's eyes. "I wasn't for sale there, not at that place." Qi looked back down. "I had a little space in the attic and I worked, I did the embroidery and cleaned and such. I told you that."

"Yes."

"Well, it wasn't a good life or anything, but no one messed with me. I was just a skinny ugly little kid. Besides, like I said, that place didn't cater to the customers that wanted kids. Plus some of the other whores, they kept an eye out for me. So in that way, I was lucky. But the thing is..." Qi went quiet for a bit, still plucking at the grass. "It's just...the whores? They didn't want it. The sex I mean. It was a job. They got paid. They'd pretend they were enjoying it, of course, the customers like that kind of thing, or at least most of them do. They want the fantasy, I guess. But when they were done it was all business, back in the back room where they'd get cleaned up and ready for the next round. They'd make fun of the customers, talk about how boring and stupid they were, how bad they were at sex, that kind of thing. And it made an impression on me, I guess. That it was always this dirty boring thing, something you paid for. Something that was fake."

"Oh, Qi."

Qi shrugged. "Well, I know it isn't true. I mean, my head knows it. But it's hard to get past it sometimes. And even Wei...I mean, he's not paying any of those men he takes home, it's not like that. They want to be there and he wants them there. But he doesn't care about them. He just has his fun and out they go. He's never had a relationship or anything."

Wu scoffed. "Oh, I thought Mako was going to kill him when Zhi let it slip a couple of years back that he'd been visiting you over the garage. Mako thought he'd been carrying on with you, treating you like you were one of his disposable lovers. Nothing I could say would stop him, he drove over there and practically threw Wei out the window. It took a lot of convincing on Wei's part to make Mako understand that he'd never done anything like that with you and wouldn't do it, either."

"Wei never told me that! I'm not his type anyhow, Mako ought to know that."

Wu threw out a hand and rolled his eyes. "Mako's not known for thinking clearly when he gets angry, you know. I knew nothing of the sort had been going on, but you know how Mako is. He's very protective."

"Yeah, I know. But...anyhow. It's hard for me. Don't get me wrong. I know LoLo and Lin love each other. And you and Mako. I mean, I get it. I know it's not all like what I grew up with. I know it here," Qi slammed a finger to Qi's temple, "but my heart doesn't want to believe it, I guess."

"Well. Mako and I...we do certain things. Certain kind of role play. Mako has..." Wu was careful with his wording, "...certain needs which I can provide in my own way. It's not every time or anything. Believe me, we carry on in the normal way as well." Wu smiled.

"It's when you go to the Four Elements for the night, isn't it?" The blade of grass was well shredded by now.

"Yes. Only there. We keep it separate. It's...well. I wouldn't actually feel right talking about it without Mako's consent. But let me make it very clear to you that it is something between Mako and me. There would be absolutely no expectations for you that way. Or anyone else, for that matter. It's just between the two of us."

"Because I don't think I could do that. Not any of that...Four Elements kind of thing. Or even role play. I just..." Qi glanced up at Wu. "I'd feel like a whore. I'm sorry. But I would."

"You've no need to apologize to me, Qi," Wu said gently. "It's fine. I do mean that. I give you my word. And you should ask Mako yourself, of course, but I can promise you that he would feel the same."

"I am curious. I want to, but I don't know. I guess I'm scared. Not of sex. I mean, it's not like I don't know what goes on. Grow up where I did, you learn too early. It's not that part of it that scares me."

"Well, you know, sex and intimacy, they aren't the same thing. What Wei does? That's just physical. What you saw growing up as well, I imagine. But intimacy, it's not the same. And it can be frightening. Letting someone into your heart like that? Terrifying. I think we all feel like that, sometimes. I know I certainly did."

"You did?" Qi looked up.

Wu nodded. "Oh, of course. And it was difficult for us, being in two different cities the way we were. We missed each other, so very much, and we had to trust each other. That part was harder for Mako than me, I think. Trust has always been so difficult for him. He's always so afraid of losing those that he loves."

"I just think...what if I fuck it all up?"

Wu smiled and leaned forward. "Oh, Qi. We're all afraid of that. It's the risk you take, loving someone."

"Sometimes I think, I should just get it over with, just take someone home from a bar like Wei does, just be done with it. But it feels too much like...well. You know."

Wu nodded. "I know now. I'm glad you told me. It helps me understand."

"I feel really stupid, having this conversation," Qi mumbled, looking back down.

"Well, don't. I've never understood people's reluctance. Isn't it better just to soldier through and get it all out in the open so there are no misunderstandings later? It seems a simple enough solution to me."

Qi cracked a small grin. "You do realize you aren't like most people? Right? In so many ways."

Wu put a hand to his heart and fluttered his eyelashes. "I do like to celebrate my own uniqueness." 

That got a laugh out of Qi. "This is a weird conversation. In the middle of a forest next to a hidden house."

"That's your forest and your hidden house, might I add."

"You've got lots of property. Why this one?"

Wu smiled. "It was something you said when we were visiting Chun last year. Do you remember? You told me that sometimes you thought you'd like to just drive to the end of the world, just go where no one knows you. Well, I can't give you the end of the world, but I can at least give you this. Your own little hidden sanctuary, far away from everything, so you can be alone whenever you feel the need. All yours."

Qi stared at Wu, eyes filling with tears again.

"Come here," Wu said, and held his arms open. "I won't bite you. Or even try any hanky-panky, I promise. Just come here for a moment." He gestured with his open hands. Qi slid reluctantly over, sitting stiffly next to Wu on the blanket. Wu pulled Qi in the rest of the way and wrapped Qi up in his arms. "There. It's a hug. I know you are capable, I've seen you do it with the children."

"Children just want hugs. Adults usually want something more."

Wu smiled. "Well, right now I would just like a hug. That's all. And also some dumplings, but we'll get to that after the hug." Qi's arms slowly went around Wu, and Wu's smile widened. "So tell me. What would you like to do first? Here, I mean."

"Get someone out to check the roof, fix the doors. All of the wood most likely needs to be replaced at this point, if that roof is holding on it's by a thread. I'd check the masonry for holes or chinks in it. I'd want it to be weather-tight before the snow flies. It needs cleaning but I'd want to do that first."

Wu nodded. "Mmmm. Did I mention the part where as a Hou-Ting you'll be getting a considerable annual stipend?"

"You said Mako and the kids were."

"Naturally that means you as well." 

"What kind of stipend are we talking about?"

Wu quoted a number. Qi swore.

"Well, I really am quite wealthy, Qi. As I said, you'd have to ask Mako about the details. But in any case, I'm certain you could get someone out here to work on the place if you wanted to. I have no idea who does these sorts of things. Do you hire local? Bring someone in? Someone fixed our house before Mako and I moved in, I've forgotten who they were although I do remember the very imposing woman who smoked like a chimney and shouted a great deal whenever I'd visit. Mako would know who she was."

Qi was laughing. "Listen to you. You don't even know who worked on your own house. You're like an overgrown baby."

Wu pulled back in mock indignation. "How very rude of you! You may redeem yourself by serving me some dumplings. Isn't fresh air supposed to invigorate the appetite? I feel as if I could eat three of them!"

"If you eat three whole dumplings and LoLo hears about it he'll make you eat outside every single day."

"He would, wouldn't he?" Wu's face lit up and Qi's lips quirked in amusement.

"Three whole dumplings it is. What if I added some pickled cabbage and a duck egg to the bowl?"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I'm not that hungry!"

"Pour the tea, then." Qi handed over the thermos and pulled out the bowls with a smile.


	24. Handcrafted Felicitations: Qi Celebrates A Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Qi turns twenty-three.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is for my own betareader, who shares a birthday with Qi. I love you too, my dearest darling. Thank you for everything.

It had been an embarrassment of riches, really.

The day had started out when Qi came down to the kitchen to help LoLo with breakfast. Qi had been doing it for years; LoLo always had kitchen assistants around during the day but the two of them enjoyed that quiet time together, Qi chopping up vegetables for their morning jook and LoLo preparing the dumplings which were the only thing he could manage to get Wu to eat for breakfast. That morning, however, when Qi had entered the kitchen it was to find LoLo already up and moving, apron tied on, frying up a batch of sesame balls with red bean paste. When Qi expressed surprise at this change in their usual routine, LoLo had just laughed and had startled Qi even further by wrapping Qi up into a strong hug.

"Happy birthday, my dear," he said, and kissed both of Qi's cheeks. "Now sit down and have some breakfast. Tea's already made."

Qi had sat down and stared at the plate of piping hot deliciousness. "These are my favorites."

This had gotten even more laughter out of LoLo. "Now how did I know that?" A wink was shot Qi's way and Qi bit into the fried dough with a happy smile. Not long after that was the clatter of feet; Naoki and Zhi burst into the kitchen, shouting out their congratulations and bestowing hugs (and, in Naoki's case, snitching one of Qi's sesame balls). Lin was next; still in her bathrobe, followed not long after by Wu, already dressed and dapper. Mako and Meili were the last ones down, both still struggling to wake up, Meili knuckling at her eyes and Mako not even managing a birthday greeting until he'd had a cup of tea.

"We have reservations tonight at Kwong's for dinner," Wu announced when he'd finished his own breakfast. "Lin will get Naoki to and from school today. You and I have a date, Qi."

Qi had to chuckle a little at that one. "Spa date?"

Wu's eyes sparkled the way they always did when Wu got excited. "How could you have guessed? Yes, darling. The entire works, naturally. We should get moving, though. They're expecting us relatively early." 

Qi should have known by the fact that no one was actually leaving the kitchen that something was up. The baby wouldn't have known, of course, and no one ever told Zhi anything that they didn't want repeated; Zhi couldn't keep a secret to save his life. But the rest of them had been hovering in anticipation, even Lin. Qi had run upstairs to grab a jacket and get presentable; back down the stairs and even Wu was ready to go, which really should have been the tipping point. Qi still hadn't suspected, however, and thus was completely astonished to come across the brand new Satomobile in the garage.

She was a thing of glory, no mistake; a roadster, only two seats, built for speed. She was all black and chrome, gleaming in the overhead lights, slung low to the ground, her backside pointed like a spider-wasp's. Qi let out an involuntary gasp. "Surprise," Wu murmured into Qi's ear and Qi should have answered, but was rendered momentarily speechless.

"Daddy says it goes real fast," crowed Naoki, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. "Oh, Qi, you'll give me a ride, won't you?"

"Right off the line. No one else has one like it, it's not being made available to the general public. Asami put one of her new engines in it," said Mako, mouth twitching up into a smile despite only having one cup of tea. "She told me it gets all the way up to 120 miles per hour on the track." At Qi's incredulous look, Mako laughed. "Don't ask me everything she did to it. Let's just say she custom made this one for you and leave it for you to figure out as you go. It's got one of those superchargers she's been working on, though."

Qi opened the door and slid onto the buttery soft leather of the seat; a single push on the starter button and it instantly purred into life, the engine throbbing with quiet power. "Oh you beauty," Qi whispered reverently, hands sliding over the steering wheel. The family was all smiling; even little Meili, eyes wide from her perch in Mako's arms. "Alright, Butterfly. Get in." Naoki let out with a shriek of joy and practically levitated to the passenger side, ignoring the door to leap into her seat. She beamed at Qi, hair coming out of the loose braid she always wore to sleep in, her feet still bare under her pajamas, practically vibrating with excitement.

"Just around the block," Qi said. "I know she's got school." Mako rolled his eyes but nodded, and Lin opened the garage door for them. Qi put the car into gear and pulled out slowly, getting a feel for the clutch. "She's smooth, all right." Down the street Qi drove, keeping the speed low, the engine quiet despite its obvious potential. They turned onto the next street over, following the borders of the park. Qi looked over at Naoki and flashed a smirk. "You ready?" 

"Go fast, Qi!"

Qi slammed a foot on the gas and the car responded instantly; the motor roared and they shot forward with a squeal, leaving marks on the street behind them. The car ate the pavement as Qi took them around the next corner nearly on two wheels, Naoki screaming her approval. "Hang on, Butterfly," Qi said as loudly as Qi could, and opened up the throttle with a double tap on the clutch pedal. 

The car practically flew down the street. Qi drove it through the neighborhood, grinning the entire time, completely ignoring the angry shouts of their well-heeled neighbors as they streamed past. Qi could not give a damn for their neighbors, not today. The car was everything that Qi had ever dreamed of, fast and tight, a race car barely passing as something more civilized. Qi couldn't wait to get her out on the open road and really let her have her head. Maybe Mako would come along; underneath those uniforms and nicely tailored suits was still the pro-bender that Qi remembered from the radio broadcasts, all spitfire cocky charm. Qi thought Mako could use a little wild drive out into the country. Back and around the block they went, Qi slowing as they turned the corner back onto their own street. Naoki was giggling uncontrollably, cheeks flushed and hair nearly completely out of her braid.

"Oh, we should have tied your hair back. I'm sorry, Butterfly." Qi reached over to finger a tangle, wincing a bit.

"I don't even care. Not even a bit." She was still laughing. "Oh Qi, can we go again later?"

Qi winked. "You know it." The family was all still waiting in the garage, still smiling as they pulled back in. Mako took one look at Naoki's hair and raised an eyebrow at Qi, but said nothing beyond, "Okay, you had your fun, now it's time to get dressed before you're late for school."

Qi drove Wu at a far more sedate pace to the spa. Wu really had planned a whole day; mud baths for the both of them, facials, haircuts, massages and steams. After some debate Qi picked a clear red shade of polish for Qi's own nails; they were short, of course, but Qi made an effort to keep them nice. Wu suggested that Qi's toes get a polish as well; Qi hardly gave it a thought before agreeing. Why not? It wasn't like anyone ever saw Qi's toes anyhow. 

Besides, it was Qi's birthday. Twenty-three. There was a time when Qi had been fairly sure that Qi wasn't going to make it that far.

Qi had assumed it would just be the family at Kwong's, but should have known better. Wu had reserved the banquet room and filled it, as well. Bolin and his family were there and Su and Baatar had traveled all the way from Zaofu, bringing along Wing and Nuo and their girls as well as Wei, who had been gone for some months now. Yumi showed up with Asami on her arm, Asami passing along Korra's regrets that she was out of town and couldn't make it. The entire family resident on Air Temple Island was there as well. The dinner was delicious, as always, and Qi was nearly overwhelmed with gifts, including a set of war fans that had been sent from the Royal Family in the Fire Nation, the steel of the spines forged in a waving pattern, neatly matching the intricate flames that had been painted onto black silk. Even Huan and Ikki had remembered Qi, Huan sending down a copy of Wu's coronation brooch in gold and emeralds with a strangely subdued Wei. The gift from Lin and the kids was Qi's favorite, however. She had bent a block of black marble around the children's hand prints, saving them forever in the stone. "Like a fossil," Zhi had explained, and all three of the kids had put their hands into their prints to demonstrate. That one brought tears to Qi's eyes.

They stayed late into the night, talking and visiting, pulling extra chairs together to make impromptu beds for the younger children to sleep on, covered with coats, dozing through the adults' laughter. Wei was mostly quiet over dinner; Qi had noticed he wasn't drinking. Qi caught his eye at one point and raised an eyebrow. _You okay?_ Wei had given him a little smile back and had walked over to put his arms around Qi. "I missed you so much. You free tomorrow?" he had asked, and at Qi's nod had kissed Qi's cheek. "Maybe you can come over?" Qi had returned the kiss, promising to show up after breakfast. Something had happened in those months Wei had spent up on the mountain with his brothers but Qi could wait another night to hear about it.

Eventually the party broke up; taxis were called for and once they were home the children were put to bed. Qi carried up the gifts to the third floor and left them on Qi's desk before getting ready for bed; yawning freely. It wasn't until Qi had crawled into bed that Qi saw the letter on Qi's nightstand, along with a wrapped box. Qi didn't need to open the letter to know who it was from; Wu had his parchment made specially for him at a stationer's in town and Qi was intimately familiar with that paper. Unfolding it, Qi began to read.

 

_My darling Qi,_

_I had thought for some time what I could get you for your birthday. Of course there is the car; but that is really a gift from the whole family, and from Asami as well. She quite enjoyed putting your car together, I am to understand. Well. You know all things automobile are really beyond me!_

_Mako is easy to shop for. He does love gifts. Be it a new pair of cuff links or a custom-made cologne, Mako is always delighted to have money spent on him. Well, you know this, of course. But you? You have never been impressed with things that can be bought. "I could just buy that myself," you said on Opal's birthday a few years back when Bolin gave her a diamond necklace, and I have never forgotten it. Purchasing you an expensive gift was right out. What could I do? Zhi was clever enough to think of their gift, but alas! I was not feeling clever at all! Quite the shocking development! I was_ extremely _disappointed in myself, I must say._

 _I started to think to myself, well, what does Qi like? And then the answer came to me! Qi loves to embroider. So I decided that I would embroider you something with my own two hands. I wanted to show you that I do notice and appreciate all that you are and all that you do. So I purchased myself materials and thought,_ How hard could it be?

 _Now you are laughing at me, and so you should. I am_ completely _hopeless at embroidery, I am deeply sorry to report. How many times did I stab myself with that bloodthirsty needle? Oh! So very many times! I could never remember to keep my fingers out of the way. I didn't want you to get any word of it, so I only did it in those moments I was alone, up in my study in the middle of the night. You nearly caught me at it more than once, I can assure you!_

_Qi, it is a terrible, hopeless mess. I bled on it a few times despite my very best efforts not to and I do not have the first idea how to cleanse something like this. I could have asked Mako how to wash it, of course, but I didn't want him to know I was doing it. When it was finished I realized how awful it looked and I promptly threw it into the trash and shed a few bitter tears over my general uselessness. However, after some thought I fished it back out again and resolved to give to you._

_I know it looks bad, but I want you to know I made it with only the very best of intentions. I made it with love. For I do love you, you know. Perhaps not in all of the expected ways; I don't even know how to describe the ways I love you. I only know that you are the first person I have ever actually made something for. So it, like the real me, is imperfect; lumpy and misshapen and stained. I do not let many people see that side of me, my darling. I am always the king. But for you, I just wanted to be the man who loved you enough to try. I hope you can see it that way and forgive it its many pathetic mistakes, just like I hope you can forgive me all of mine._

_Happy birthday, my dearest._

_As always,_

_Your Devoted Wu_

 

Qi wiped tears away before reaching for the box, untying the bow and taking the lid away. Inside was a piece of fairly grubby white silk still secured in an embroidery hoop, spotted in a few places with a rusty brown. The name Qi Hou-Ting had been shakily embroidered in black; surrounding the name was what Qi thought were supposed to be pale pink and blue flowers, along with some green blobs that were probably leaves. Qi turned it over to smile through tears at the snarled tangle of threads on the back. It really was a mess.

Qi gently kissed it before smoothing it down. There would be no washing of it; it was perfect the way it was. Tomorrow Qi would hang it above the butterfly that Zhi had given when Qi had moved into these rooms, in a place of honor.

"I love you, too," Qi whispered to the silk, pressing it to Qi's cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Qi's car is based on [The Mercedes Benz SSK.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_SSK)
> 
>  
> 
>  


	25. An Acceleration Of Perception: Qi And Mako Go For A Drive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Qi and Mako take Qi's new car for a drive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was inspired by my Betareader and [the Rolling Stones.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEuV82GqQnE) Two of my favorite things.

Qi handed the goggles over and Mako took them automatically. "Better put them on."

Mako looked at them for a moment and then back up at Qi. "I'm going to need them?"

Qi tapped Qi's own goggles, resting on the top of Qi's head and started the car. "Oh, you'll need them." Qi's grin was feral, and Mako found himself grinning back.

Wu was waiting with the children as they left the garage. "Please give my love to your family. You have the letter?"

Mako nodded and patted his breast pocket. "I'll give it to her, special delivery."

Wu leaned down to kiss him on the cheek. "Please pass that along to your grandmother as well. Tell her the children and I will be down for a nice visit next month?"

"Will do."

Wu walked around the front of the car to press a kiss onto Qi's cheek. "Drive safely, my darling."

"Always do," Qi replied, and tipped a wink at Naoki. "Don't look like that, Butterfly. I promised you that I'd take you for a long drive and I always keep my promises, don't I?" She nodded glumly. "All right, then. Come here." At Qi's beckon she came forward and got a kiss. The other children ran towards the car for their share of kisses before Wu pulled them back.

"Okay, kids. We'll see you tomorrow. Hey, no crying, Zhi. Papa and Rohan are taking you to the mover tonight, remember? You're going to have so much fun you won't even notice we're gone." Mako didn't bother to open the door when he hopped out to hug all three of his children. "You be good, now." Back into the car he went, long legs easily taking him over the side again. "Let's go before Wu starts in," he muttered to Qi, and Qi fired up the engine, pulling out into the street as Qi adjusted the goggles around Qi's eyes. 

Qi kept the car mostly within speed limits within Republic City itself. Qi had never given much of a damn about speed limits; on the flip side, Qi had never been in an accident and was one of the best drivers Mako had ever seen. He still couldn't get over the fact that Qi had been fourteen, driving Wu around the city. But once they left the city limits Qi let the car have her head. Mako was glad he'd put on the goggles.

The car flew down the two lane road that led south. It was so low to the ground that it cornered like a dream, Qi downshifting into the turns at only the very last second, the car responding immediately. They hit a long stretch of road and Qi grinned at him, motioning towards the road. _You ready?_ Qi mouthed, and Mako nodded with his own grin. Qi tapped the clutch twice and the car roared, shooting ahead so fast that Mako's head jerked back painfully. He let out with a shout and could see Qi laughing. The landscape streaked past as the seat vibrated beneath him. Eventually Qi let up on the gas and pulled off to the side of the road, shutting the car off. The engine ticked in the sudden silence.

"Shit," Mako said, and Qi laughed that gritty chuckle.

"Yeah. She's a beauty."

"How the fuck is this car even street legal?" Mako ran a hand across the dash in appreciation.

"I'm not really sure if it is. Spirits know who Wu bribed to get it to me."

Mako grunted acknowledgement. Wu considered bribes a part of doing business. Earth Kingdom thing, for sure. Mako had, on one memorable occasion, tried to point out the dubious morality and legality of such things in Republic City, but Wu had been genuinely offended. In fact, it had been one of the few times that Wu had been truly angry with him.  _How dare you,_ he had said, his eyes flashing. _How on earth do you expect these low-paid government employees to be able to afford the necessities! Are you telling me that you purposefully deprive them of their rightful income? It was one thing when you were destitute of course, but you most certainly are not now! I am shocked at you, Mako. Deeply shocked. How could you? These people have families to feed! You of all people ought to understand that!_ He'd backpedaled right out of that conversation and had never brought it up again, chalking it up to cultural differences that they were never going to come to a compromise on.

They both got out of the car and stretched, Qi reaching into the small space behind the seats to pull out a thermos of tea, grimacing a bit at the overly sweet taste of it.

"You could have just given it to me black," he said, but Qi waved him off, putting the thermos back when they were finished. Qi pulled out Qi's silver case and handed two cigarettes over for Mako to light. They smoked in silence, leaning against the car. It was a comfortable silence, and Mako appreciated it. There had been a time when the silence between the two of them had been strained; Mako suspicious and Qi mistrustful. It had changed over the years, though. Mako glanced over at Qi's profile; the long face, the high cheekbones, the slight gap between Qi's front teeth that only showed itself when Qi smiled. Qi was never going to be a particularly jovial person, but the smiles actually happened every once in awhile now. The sullen defensiveness that Qi had shown up with all those years ago had gone for good, though. Mako was glad of that.

"It's about another two hours to your family's place," Qi said, squinting into the distance, before nodding down at the driver's seat. "You want to take her the rest of the way?"

Mako blinked. "Really?"

Qi grinned. "You know you want to."

Mako laughed. "Yeah, I want to. You sure?"

"Don't be an ass," Qi said. They smoked for another minute more, Mako looking around them. Fields as far as the eye could see. Farming territory, but it wouldn't last forever. Republic City was growing all the time, and he figured sooner rather than later the city's urban sprawl would head this way. He was a city boy, through and through, but a part of him was sorry to think of all of the green getting trampled under asphalt. "So," Qi said, and he left his own thoughts a little reluctantly. "Your husband tell you that he asked me to marry him?"

The cigarette slipped from his fingers, tumbling to the ground. "What?"

Qi took in a deep breath, nodding. "Yeah. I didn't think he'd mentioned it to you."

"No, he didn't fucking mention it to me." Mako stamped at the cigarette. "When the fuck was this?"

"When we went to go and look at that hunting lodge."

"I knew he was going to give it to you, we talked about that. He kind of forgot to mention he was going to propose, though."  Mako felt his jaw tightening up. "Yeah, kind of forgot to mention that part."

"Well, as proposals go it was pretty half-assed. He talked a lot about legalities, that kind of shit." Qi's tone was even, but Qi's face was shut off and impassive. Mako knew that meant that Qi was purposefully hiding Qi's feelings. "He was kind enough to let me know he didn't expect to have sex with me. Offered you, though."

Mako broke away from the car. "Oh, so now he's my pimp? Fuck!"

Qi shrugged. "You know better than anyone else how he is."

"Yeah, I do. Which is why I know he was only thinking about himself." Mako stared at Qi. "What did you tell him?"

Qi pitched the cigarette into the dirt, tamping it down. "I didn't. He dropped it and hasn't pushed me for an answer. At least not yet."

"Shit. Shit!" Mako put his hands on his hips, pacing back and forth tightly. "I'm going to kill him." He looked back at Qi. "You don't have to do that, you know. You aren't going to get kicked out of the house if you tell him no. I hope you know that."

Qi made eye contact. "I do know that."

Mako jerked a nod. "Fuck. He just...it's easy to forget he was raised to be a king, sometimes. Sometimes the shit he does, I just...it's like he doesn't always have a clear understanding of how people work. Real people, I mean. Not royalty."

Qi nodded. "Yeah, I know. I get it. In his mind it solves all what he thinks of as problems. I know it isn't that he doesn't care about my feelings. He's just taking care of things the way a king would. Marrying me solves everything for him." Qi scoffed. "Never mind you and me."

"Qi..."

"Look, I know he's never going to sleep with me. I came to terms with it a long time ago, believe it or not. I know he loves me in his own way."

"He does. He really does." Mako put a hand on Qi's shoulder and squeezed it. "I'm sorry it's not the way you wanted."

Qi sighed. "It is what it is. I am who I am and he is who he is. What can you do?" Qi looked back towards Republic City and Mako was shocked to see a tear making its way down Qi's cheek. "But is that what I want? A marriage with someone who loves me but is never going to desire me? Because that matters to me."

"If it matters to you then you deserve it," Mako said.

Qi nodded. "Yeah. I do." Qi met his eyes. "Once upon a time I would have taken it. Grabbed at it. But now? I don't know." Qi took a deep breath. "When Wei gets back into town from training, I've been thinking about asking him if I could move in for awhile. Not forever. Just so I could have some peace to think about what I want. I don't think he'd say no."

Mako stood there for awhile, thinking. "I have to tell you, the thought kind of panics me."

"I just need some time. Some space."

"I get it. You need to do what you need to do. You should." Mako grabbed the bridge of his nose. "I'm just...uh, well. The rational part of my brain gets it but uh, it's making me a little upset here. Fuck. Sorry." He could feel the anxiety crowding into him, threatening to sink its cruel fingers down into his mind. It had been a long time since he'd felt this way.

"Hey, you okay?" Qi put a hand on his forearm.

Mako shook his head. "Sorry. I don't mean to make this about me." He shook his head a little harder, trying to clear it. "You uh, you should do it. Spend some time on your own, think about what you need. The kids will worry, but we can reassure them."

"Mako?" Qi was still staring into his face.

"Why'd he have to do this?" He broke away. "Why did he have to go and fuck it all up? Things were fine the way they were."

"No, they weren't. And you know it as well as I do." Qi turned away to gaze across the fields. "All Wu did was drag it out into the light. I'm not happy about it, but it's not like either you or I was going to do it." Qi sighed. "I just need some time to myself. I haven't had a damn moment to myself for going on ten years now. I don't even know who I am anymore, Mako. Street kid? Republic City's latest fashion icon? Shit, the kids think of me as a parent, you know?"

Mako turned back. "Of course they do. You've been there all along."

"I'm barely old enough to be Zhi's parent, no less the Butterfly's. I realized the other day that I think of the baby as being mine, though, and I don't know what to think about that. I thought about going out to the lodge for a time, but it's a mess. It needs some work before it would be habitable." Qi actually laughed. "Fuck. Listen to me. It's got a roof and a floor and pump for water. Once upon a time that would have been a fucking palace to me." Qi threw up a hand. "But that's my point. Who the fuck am I?"

Mako shook his head. "You don't need to explain it to me. I slept in a damn sleeping bag under my desk at work for a time, trying to figure this shit out. I get it. I do. No judgment here from me, Qi." 

Qi turned away. "I don't know what's going on between you and me, either."

"Yes. You do." Mako's fists clenched up. "Don't play coy. You know." He punched a blast of flame harmlessly into the sky. "Damn Wu for sticking his nose in it. I wanted to have my own time to have this conversation with you. Everything has to be on his time. Every single damn thing. I love him, spirits know I do, but every once in awhile I get worn the fuck out with everything always being when and where he wants it." He sucked in a deep breath and slammed a closed fist into his open palm. "If you and I decide we ever want to do something about this then I want it because we've made that choice." He shot out an explosive breath. "Not because Wu is playing puppet master."

Qi nodded and trailed a boot along the dirt. "Yeah." It was so soft Mako could hardly hear it.

"I want you. I think you know that." Qi refused to meet his eyes but nodded, at least. "But I can't offer you what I should be able to offer you. I can't be yours alone. You're the one who has to figure out of that's enough for you. I know this. It's why I haven't done anything." He made a disgusted noise. "That and I'm a coward about this kind of thing. But. Anyhow. Doesn't matter. Take your time. Go stay with Wei. Or if you don't want to wait then go and find somewhere else. A hotel, if you want, your allowance from Wu will cover it, I can promise you that. Shit. For that matter, if you asked Lin she'd give you the keys to her flat, no question."

"She probably would, wouldn't she?" 

Mako smiled a little grimly. "If you told her what was going on she'd pack your bags herself. Right after handing Wu his ass, that is."

That got a little amused grimace out of Qi. "Yeah. We should go, though. Your folks are expecting us."

"Yeah." Neither one of them moved, however. The silence stretched on until Mako stirred. "Okay. Let's roll. Am I still driving?"

Qi looked over at him, lower lip caught in Qi's teeth. "Mako..." Qi's eyes had softened and Mako started that direction before pulling himself up short, shaking his head.

"No. I can't. I can't do this. I have fucked this up before and I am not doing it this time. You take the time you need, think about what you need to think about. Come to your own decision in your own time. And then we'll talk. But until then, I'm going to do my best to keep to myself and leave it alone. Okay?"

"What if I don't want you to?" Qi was moving closer, now.

Mako reached out a hand and put it on Qi's shoulder, keeping Qi at arm's length. "I don't want to either, but I am trying, for once in my life, to be smart about something. Or else I'm no better than Wu is. Understand?"

Qi nodded. "Okay." Qi walked around the car and vaulted into the passenger seat, sliding the goggles back down. "We should go."

Mako closed his eyes for a moment. "Fuck," he said, and opened the door to slide behind the wheel. "How much gas should I give her?"

"Not much. She goes with just a tap. Ease up on her at first and then you can let her fly." 

"Right," he said, and started the car.


	26. A Shattering Conclusion: Mako And Qi Go For Drinks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fleshing out of something that Qi mentions to Wu in Chapter Two of [ All The Wealth The Past Has Made: Or A Personal Account Of The Lunar New Year, 186.](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9423905/chapters/21332510)
> 
> As requested by Princess Marezelle!

"You sure about this place?" Mako scowled through the grimy window of the bar, trying to look within. There wasn't enough light inside or outside to show anything. "I don't think I've ever been this deep into this neighborhood." He pitched his cigarette into a puddle of fuck-knew-what on the outside edge of the door. "You don't bring Wei down here, do you?"

Qi took a final drag off of Qi's cigarette, with that long-suffering look that Qi was fond of throwing his way whenever he said something Qi thought was unusually stupid. "I don't bring Wei here. This is where I came from. You said you wanted to know." Qi shifted, giving a flat stare to one of the women lurking on the corner that had moved a little too close. 

She blinked blearily through gummy eyes, swaying slowly. "Hey sugar," she mumbled, the smell of her mouth driving Qi's head backwards.

"Opium," Qi said, shaking Qi's head. "She's doped to the fucking gills." Qi shooed her off. "Ya fuckin' hoof it on outta here, ain't nobody need what you got." The woman mumbled something unintelligible and shuffled off, leaning against the wall for support. Qi looked Mako up and down before reaching up and tousling his hair. "You still look too nice, but you'll have to do. Unbutton some of those buttons, though."

Mako obliged while looking at Qi, wondering what Wu would think. Qi was wearing a shapeless tunic and calf-length trousers in a nondescript, dingy brown and had left Qi's hair natural and uncombed, covered with a cap. He'd tried to dress down himself, but he didn't really own anything any longer that would pass in this neighborhood. He'd been a street kid, yeah, but he had always steered clear of this area; even the Triads didn't have a tight grasp on this part of Republic City. "You grew up near here?"

Qi jerked Qi's chin to the left. "About three blocks to the east. It's still a whorehouse but I don't know anybody there anymore." Qi took a deep breath. "You just let me do the talking, okay? They hear that middle class accent they'll try to jump you. You give them some of that dockside of yours and they'll beat your ass for being in the wrong neighborhood." Mako nodded sharply and Qi kicked open the door and walked in.

The inside was dark and dank with it; smelling of cheap spirits and smoke of all kinds, tobacco, herbal and the sickly sweetness of poppies, overlaid with old sweat. His feet were sticking to the floor with every step and if he was not mistaken the woman who was perched on the man's lap in the far corner was doing more than just sitting there. He looked away and focused on Qi. Qi had always moved stealthily; silent and with a type of controlled menace that he'd always envied just a bit. As the years went by Qi had lost a lot of that; Qi could walk into one of Wu's parties with ease, mimicking the sort of casual elegance that came naturally to people like Wu and his crowd of followers. It was back in force tonight, though. Qi was small, compared to many of the other patrons, but everyone gave Qi space. He had no idea how many knives Qi had hidden on Qi's person but he'd lay odds there were enough.

Qi caught the bartender's eye and held up two fingers. The bartender nodded and poured something into two none-too-clean glasses; Qi shoved some coins across the bar and caught them up, nodding to a table in the back that was hosting an old man with very few teeth and a staggering amount of glasses in front of him. When they got there Qi leaned down towards him. "Beat it," Qi said, and when the man looked like he might argue a knife appeared from nowhere and the man skulked off, muttering about people stealing a man's table. Qi took a seat and pretended to sip at the drink.

"This safe to drink?" he asked while sniffing into the glass and Qi snorted.

"Not if you don't want to end up blind tomorrow." Qi pulled out two cigarettes from a crumpled pack and lit them with a battered lighter, handing one over. Mako had already been warned to only use his bending as a very last resort; benders were not welcome in this place.

"So what are we doing?" Mako had to lean in close to be heard over the noise of the crowd.

"Waitin' for someone." Qi leaned back and scanned the room. Someone who didn't know Qi as well as he did might have thought Qi was relaxed; Mako knew better. They sat there together, Qi blowing showy smoke rings, until the chair next to Mako scraped as someone pulled it out and sat in it. Mako didn't recognize him; he was a bit shorter than Qi, a bit stockier, with brown hair and skin and a face that wasn't particularly memorable in any way. Qi handed over a cigarette and the man lit it himself.

"How be Yer Highness?" he asked Mako politely, his accent as thick as Qi's ever was. "And the Princess Butterfly?" 

Mako stared at him. "Who the fuck are you?"

The man's mouth twisted up and he glanced at Qi. "Told you he don't remember me none." He sat back and took in a deep drag of the smoke before letting it out. Something in the way he moved his head triggered a memory in Mako of a silent boy, always on the outskirts of the first gang of street kids that Wu had taken under his wing all those years back.

"Zip?" He couldn't keep the incredulity out of his voice.

Qi flashed a grin at that one; the man swore and shoved a coin across the table. Qi took it up and bit it before dropping it into a pocket, getting an amused scoff in return.

"Wu thinks you're dead," he said, continuing to stare at him. Out of all of those kids, it had been little Ine that had hurt the worst; she had died of a drug overdose a few days shy of her seventeenth birthday and Wu had taken it hard, sobbing for days, paying to have her buried properly, still bringing offerings to her grave. Wu'd sent Spring to University and Natsiq down to the Southern Water Tribe for her bending; Jin-Jin was working at the Four Elements and Cork had worked as a chef after apprenticing under LoLo for a few years. Cork was helping to run Wu's shelter for the kids now. But Zip had disappeared off the streets; the other kids hadn't known what had happened to him and they'd just assumed him lost, one more street kid swallowed by the City herself.

"Ain't dead. I'm Qi's man now." He nodded at Qi. "I be watchin' out for Yer Highness and the little princesses and the prince, too. Keep my ear to the ground, don't I?"

"I can't fucking believe it! Why wouldn't you let Wu know?" Mako couldn't stop looking at him. "Did you know who he was, Qi?"

Qi shot him the _Don't Be A Dumbass, Mako_ look again. "We both come from here." Which wasn't an answer, but he could tell by Qi's expression that it was as good as he was going to get, or at least right then.

"I can't stay," Zip said. 

Qi nodded, reaching into a pocket and pulling out a battered looking pouch, sliding it across the table. "Next week?"

Zip took up the pouch and made it disappear before standing up. "Yeah. Your man LoLo gone make them sesame balls again?"

"I tell him you comin' he will," Qi replied, and they clasped hands before Zip disappeared into the crowd again, Mako trying not to make it obvious he was watching before turning his head back to meet Qi's eyes. Qi held up a hand. "Yeah, yeah. He gets me information. I pay him. And yeah, sometimes he subs in for our morning milkman, leaves the milk and his intel with LoLo. LoLo knows who he is. But listen," Qi leaned closer, "No telling Wu, okay? It's best that he doesn't know. I only gave you this information so if something happens to me, you can meet with Zip." Mako opened his mouth but Qi cut him off with a sharp movement. "Later. This isn't a good place. Let's get the fuck out of here, okay? I know somewhere better we can go." Qi led him out and they walked down the street for several long blocks before cutting west, heading into what Mako knew was a somewhat better neighborhood. Qi stopped at one point and took off the jacket, turning it inside out and putting it back on, the inside still brown, but clean and subtly patterned. Qi lost the hat in a pocket and combed Qi's hair back in the reflection of a window of a closed shop. A pair of worn but clean spats appeared out of nowhere and were quickly buttoned on. Mako's eyes widened; Qi had gone from looking like something dragged off the streets to respectable if impoverished working class. At the end of the transformation Qi winked and motioned Mako to do up his buttons before they walked another five blocks to a club that had jazz spilling out of the partly opened door.

It was a better class of establishment, for sure; there was a trio playing surprisingly decent music and lights, for one thing. His feet weren't sticking to the floor, either. Qi leaned close to his ear. "This one I've taken Wei to a few times. Rich boy slumming." Qi winked again and slid in between folks at the bar to get two glasses of whiskey, finding a table and sitting down. The whiskey wasn't top of the line or anything, but it had a sweetish bite to it and he ordered another once he'd downed the one in front of him.

"You're full of little surprises tonight, aren't you?" he said, and that got a little chuckle from Qi. "How long has Zip been doing that for you?"

Qi thought a moment, and then caught the server's eye and ordered Mako another double. "Five or six years officially. Before that he'd just check in every once in awhile." Qi shrugged. "He's not suited to the kind of life Wu would have tried to give to him. He's devoted to Wu, though. He keeps an ear open down in the lesser neighborhoods for me."

"Huh," Mako said, and leaned back in his chair. Qi was still on the first drink, but he was feeling pleasantly buzzed. "You ever going to stop surprising me?"

Qi didn't answer, just took a swallow of whiskey and grinned slowly. Mako's breath caught and he tried to cover for it by ordering himself another drink. Qi wasn't even wearing one of Qi's sharp outfits; brown wasn't really Qi's color and the clothes were clearly meant to be unremarkable. Didn't matter. The soft light was picking up the different shades of Qi's eyes, leeching most of the green out of them, making them match the suit. He wondered, not for the first time, what color Qi's nipples would be under all of those clothes; with a jolt he realized he was starting to get hard and he needed to back right the fuck away from that. "Need to use the head," he blurted out, and Qi jerked a thumb in its direction. "Be back in a flash," he said and downed the rest of his drink before lurching away from the table, making an effort to walk steadily. The whiskey was hitting him a little harder than he had realized. It was Zip, damn it. Seeing him like that had thrown him for a loop. Fucked him up.  He splashed a little water on his face when he was done, taking a deep breath before squaring his shoulders and walking back out. He'd lay off the whiskey, listen to the band for awhile, sober up a bit before they tried to find a cab home. He could talk to Qi about Zip - and what, exactly, Zip was doing - later. Back at the house where they had some privacy. 

He neatly dodged a guy who was clearly drunker than he was as he walked back out the door and took a quick moment to give the bar a more in-depth look than he had when they walked in. He noted a few people who were clearly dressed better than the locals and figured they were coming for the music, most likely. The band was really moving, their bassist keeping the crowd on their feet. No wonder no one had given him a second glance. The place was clean and kept up and the patrons, for the most part, seemed to be enjoying themselves. All but Qi that was. A fairly seedy looking man was grasping the back of Qi's chair and was leaning in, saying something.

The spike of anger he felt wasn't because he needed to worry about Qi's safety. He knew better than most that Qi was fully capable of holding Qi's own. Qi had once taken Korra down while sparring, something that had delighted Korra to no end and had ratcheted her respect for Qi up more than a few notches. Even he'd never gotten the best of Korra; it was no small feat. He could tell that Qi was not happy, however, based on the shuttered expression on Qi's face. He picked up his pace, weaving through the dancers next to the tiny stage, striding up to the table, using his greater height to look down at the man. "There a problem here?"

The man's smile was greasy, just like his brilliantined hair. "Just havin' a bit of conversation." His suit, despite its flash, was cheap and his shoes were run down at the heels, something he noted automatically, his mind categorizing the details despite his buzz. Sure, with the suit and the hair he might impress the people down here but he'd never pass in a decent neighborhood.

He leaned a little closer, letting a little of his irritation seep into his words. "Why don't you end it, then?"

The man sniggered. "Well, ain't you the touchy one?" He looked back down at Qi. "You do like a sweet lookin' man, doncha? Where's that other pretty boy you bring down here sometimes? He know you walkin' out with another rich feller?" Qi continued to stare straight ahead, expressionless. A quick flick of Qi's wrist and the man would be left watching his own guts slither down and hit the floor. What a fucking fool.

"Get lost," Mako said, his tone gone hard, and most people would have done so. Not this asshole, unfortunately.

"So tell me, pretty boy, coz I been curious for awhile now. What's underneath all of this, eh? Sometimes I'm thinkin' a cock and sometimes I'm thinkin' a cunt. I even offered to pay to check for myself, but clearly it don't want my money."

Mako could feel his fire start to writhe within him, helped along by the whiskey. _Not now._ "Walk away," he said through gritted teeth, his hands fisting up of their own accord.

"Oh ho ho ho, pretty boy's got a little spark to him." The man laughed. "Well, what you say? Need a little extra yuan? I'd pay good to get my hands on it. Fuck, I'd even let you play along if you wanna. I don't mind." That got the slightest reaction out of Qi; nothing more than a tightening of Qi's jaw but the man picked up on it. "Yeah, you don't like that, do ya? Don't know if I should pay ya or not, seein' as you been so unfriendly to me. Ya oughta be little more friendly to your betters." Qi's nostrils flared and Mako could feel his anger kick up into what was about to cross the border into rage. 

"I'm not going to tell you again. Beat it." He could feel the heat seeping from his pores, bringing the temperature up a few degrees. He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. He needed to regain control before he did something stupid. He shouldn't have had the last whiskey, damn it.

"Listen," the man said, gesturing towards Qi. "There's money in this. Plenty o' folk like the mystery. It could make a tidy little profit. Look at that suit? Step down from what it usually wears. Looks to me like it's come on some hard times." He cupped his hand around Qi's head. "This one's pretty, alright, but he ain't payin' you enough if you're wearin' that. I could do better for you."

"Take your fuckin' hands offa me," Qi said, voice barely audible above the music. Qi raised Qi's eyes to meet Mako's and he realized that it was taking everything in Qi not to take the man out. "I think it's time for us to go." Qi stood up, sidestepping out of the man's hold. The man's gaze turned ugly.

"You piece of shit," he said, reaching for Qi, who neatly blocked his grasp. "I dunno who yer workin' for but this is my turf, you got me?"

"Touch me again you'll lose that hand," Qi said, and Mako knew that Qi was dead serious. The man reached out again and Qi's hand flashed silver. Without stopping to think Mako grabbed the pimp and dragged him out of Qi's reach, the man snarling in thwarted fury. He took a swing at Mako, who easily yanked his hand behind his back. He saw three goons - all of them large, fucking naturally they were large - rushing towards him.

"Shit," he gritted out before dragging him across the dance floor, other patrons shouting and leaping out of the way, the man inadvertently kicking a chair that skittered and bounced, the band still playing without even taking note of the disturbance. Not the first time, then. He hauled the man up and above his head, and with a grunt, sent him flying through one of the plate glass windows in the front of the building, glass spraying out in chunks and shards. The goons rushed for him and he went into a crouch, a fire dagger thrusting out of each hand. One of the bodyguards stopped up short, however, his eyes wide. Qi was pressed up behind him, saying something to him. He called out to the other two and they paused; warily looking between Mako and Qi. Qi moved the man closer, a bead of sweat trickling down his face.

"You go pay for the window. I like this place, I don't want them to kick me out the next time I come." Qi looked to be in control of the situation. Mako ignored the fact that there was blood dripping out of the man's trouser legs. It's not that he blamed Qi for it; an empty threat of a knife to someone's back wouldn't slow down men like these. He'd bet that Qi had had to put half a stiletto into the man in order to halt his rush.

"You sure?" He risked a glimpse at the pimp. He wasn't moving, laying in a heap of busted glass. His heart constricted; had he killed him? _Fuck._ But the man groaned and stirred slightly and he let out the breath he was holding.

"I'll meet you outside." The man in front of Qi grunted, the sweat starting to pour down his face as Qi gave the blade a little wiggle. "You three. Out."

He wanted to argue, but he knew better. If Qi said Qi had it handled then he needed to let Qi do whatever Qi needed to do, even though he wanted nothing more than to let loose and let these fuckers taste a little fire, see how they liked that. He stepped back, though, letting the flames die. With a look that promised revenge the man closest to him backed away, walking towards the door, followed by his compatriot. Qi escorted the other man out as well. Mako took in a deep breath, walking towards the bar. The band continued to play; people were already back into the dance floor, unconcerned for the most part. He caught the bartender's eye and leaned in. "Sorry for the mess."

She snorted. "You gonna pay for it?"

"You the owner or someone that's going to skim off the top?"

That got a wide grin out of her. "It's my place." He reached into his pocket, moving casually so as to distract from what he was doing, taking a wad of cash out of his pocket - at least three times what it would cost to cover the window - and palming it over. She flicked a glance down before putting it into a pocket, giving a grunt of appreciation. "You and your friend are welcome back, then." She jerked her chin his way. "That's a lot of flash to carry around in this neighborhood. You Triad?"

"Former," he replied. She slid a double shot of whiskey across the bar at him and he took a sip. It was a few steps up in quality from what he'd been drinking before and she acknowledged the upgrade with a nod.

"Ain't too many that can say that," she said, waving her hand at a woman who was clamoring for a glass of gin. "It's comin', sister, keep your pants on." She passed the glass over and turned back to him. "Just want to give my thanks. I don't welcome him or his into my bar." She shook her head in disgust. "Used to be, you paid your weeklies to the Triad, they kept that trash on the streets or in their own houses." She poured another gin and slid it across to the man next to him. "It ain't good for business."

"You under the Triple Threats?"

She nodded. "Went down after they lost old Lightning Bolt. Say what you want about the man, but he knew how to keep things where they should be. That Viper?" She swore colorfully. "Takes his cut and don't give much of a shit otherwise. Things were better under Zolt." She nodded again at another customer. "Anyhow. You and your friend come back anytime, you hear?"

He nodded and downed the rest of the drink. "Hey, what's his name?" He tilted his head towards the broken window. A boy was already there, sweeping up the bits of glass that had gone inside. 

"Calls himself the Catgator," she said, with a look that showed how little she thought of the name. Her attention was taken by another patron and he made his way outside.

Qi was leaning against the wall, barely visible in the light coming from the bar, smoking a cigarette. The was no sign of the pimp or his goons; there was blood on the sidewalk, however. "Is there anything I should know about that?" he said with a nod at one of the puddles of gore and Qi shrugged.

"Ask me no questions I'll tell you no lies," Qi said, and he knew that was as much of an answer as he was going to get.

"You okay?" he asked, and Qi grinned.

"Not a scratch on me." At Mako's look, Qi pushed away from the wall and sauntered towards him. "Hand to Raava. I'm fine. You really think those three were going to get the best of me?" Qi placed a hand over Qi's heart. "You wound me." With a wink Qi handed over a slightly squashed cigarette, which he quickly lit with his bending.

"Barkeep says we're welcome back, by the way."

Qi nodded. "Good. I like this joint." They started to walk down the street, heading north to a distant spill of light which, if he was not mistaken, was Bridge Avenue. They'd be able to find a cab there. They walked a block in silence before Qi spoke up again. "I ain't a whore."

Mako stopped. "You don't need to say that to me. I know that."

Qi's hand shoved Qi's hair back. "I can handle most shit people throw my way. You know that. But that's the one thing..." Qi's voice trailed off and Qi shrugged again. "Anyhow. Sorry for the trouble."

"You didn't start it. No need to apologize to me." 

"You make a habit of throwing men over your head out of windows?" Qi flicked an eyebrow up and that slow grin crept in.

"Shit." He started to laugh, despite himself. "I'm a little drunker than I thought I was. It's been awhile since I've gotten into a bar fight."

Qi snorted. "Not much of a fight. Pretty sad."

He stared at Qi, those high, harsh cheekbones gilded with the soft glow of the City at night, that full mouth loose, the uncompromising jawline softened. There was no one that could look at Qi and claim they saw beauty; Qi was too angular for that, face and nose too long, forehead too wide. Not beautiful, no, but there was something compelling in the starkness of Qi's features, something that drew you in and hooked you before you knew what was happening to you.

"Mako," Qi whispered, eyes wide, and he realized that he was pulling his thumb across Qi's mouth. He shouldn't do it, he knew, but between the whiskey and the residual adrenaline he didn't care. He followed his thumb with his mouth, sucking in the taste of whiskey and cigarettes from Qi's tongue. It was sweet, though; sweet and hot and just a little bit dangerous, the same sort of power behind it that had always fired him up whenever he kissed Korra. Qi wasn't like any of his other lovers, however; Qi had none of Korra's headstrong impulsiveness, for one thing, nor Asami's generous surrender. Qi certainly had none of the autocracy of Wu's kiss, always regal even if he was playing the victim. Qi's kiss was equal parts strength and wonder and determination, mingled with the vulnerability that Qi always kept so tightly under wraps, and he wanted nothing more than lose himself in it. It wasn't until he felt the roughness of brick under his palms that he realized he'd backed Qi into the side of a building, pushing his body against Qi's lithe tautness. It took every bit of his willpower to pull himself away.

"No," he said. "Not here. Not like this. No." He backed away, hands up. Qi's eyes closed and opened again; he was startled by the intensity of Qi's gaze.

"One of these days you won't stop," Qi said, jaw jumping. "You best figure out what the fuck you want from me before that day comes. Because it's comin', Mako. Don't you make no mistake about it." Qi stepped away from the wall and strode away, not looking back.

"Fuck," he said, digging his fingers into his scalp. "Fuck me." After a few deep breaths he trotted after Qi, towards the lights.


	27. A Cultivation Of Flair: LoLo Introduces Zhi To Aftershave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A brief mention in Chapter 4 of [All The Wealth The Past Has Made: Or A Personal Account Of The Lunar New Year, 186.](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9423905/chapters/21332510) gets a little fleshing out.
> 
> This one goes out to Ann, My Playlist Anon!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This technically happened in the Fire Nation but we'll just leave it here.

"Are you going to wear your uniform?" Zhi's head slowly poked its way through the open bathroom door. LoLo gave him a wink and gestured him inside. Wu had dressed him in green with the royal crest tonight; he hadn't seen the girls yet but he'd lay odds they were dressed to match. Leave it to Wu to make sure that no one forgot his children were Hou-Tings, even if no one was going to see them outside of family and very close friends.

"Not tonight, my boy, not for dinner. Just this brand new, fine looking suit over here." He gestured towards the bright red jacket with his razor. "Pretty sharp, hmm?"

Zhi came into the bathroom to inspect the long jacket, neatly pressed and hanging. "It's very nice! Did you pick it out all by yourself?"

"You bet I did." He smiled down at the boy before applying the razor to his neck, tidying up around his beard.

"LoLo, how come you shave when you have a beard?" Zhi perched himself on the toilet, those long legs of his easily reaching the floor. He finished a deliberate swipe before answering.

"Well, if I didn't then I'd just have an all over beard and I don't like the look of that. I like this style of beard, so I have to shave the rest of my face to keep it looking neat." Another careful pass over his cheek.

"Oh. That makes sense. It's just that Papa and Daddy don't have beards so they shave their whole faces."

"Mmmhmm."

"How come you like a beard?"

He smiled down at him. "Well, I don't know, Zhi. I just like the way it makes my face look, I suppose. Every man is different."

"Like Uncle Bo having a mustache."

"Yes, just like that." In the mirror he watched the cogs turn in the boy's brain as he considered what he'd just been told. He knew some folks got impatient with his ceaseless questions but he never minded his chatter. He'd miss it if it were gone, truth be told. Zhi was a good, sweet boy, not a malicious bone in his body. Even his little bits of naughtiness were endearingly simple. The girls were different; his Butterfly was headstrong and hot-tempered and little Meili was as cunning in her own way as Wu but Zhi? Zhi was a little love, no two ways about it. 

"Well, how long does it take to get a beard?"

"Depends on the man. Some men's beards grow in faster than others." He turned his head slowly from side to side, making sure it was even.

Zhi's eyes widened. "Like Daddy has to shave every morning because his beard is all poky and stubbly but Papa's is different. Papa's beard is soft and curly like his hair. He told me."

"There you go. It's like hair on your head. No two beards alike."

"How long did it take you?" 

He made a face to firm up his upper lip and carefully slid the razor along the line of his thin mustache, rinsing the lather it pulled up in the sink. "Oh, I don't know, to get all of it like this? About a year, I suppose." 

"That's a long time!"

"Well, I don't have much facial hair, so it took longer. I keep it trimmed, too, so it stays in the shape I like."

"Papa says you are a very debonair man."

That got a laugh out of him. "Did he now? Well, from your Papa that's a high compliment, seeing as he's a pretty debonair man himself."

Zhi leaned a little closer, voice hushed. "I had to look it up, LoLo, I didn't know what it meant." He responded by dabbing a bit of soap on his nose; Zhi giggled and wiped it off before throwing his arms around him, those gray-green eyes of his shining. "How old were you the first time you shaved, LoLo?"

"Oh, I was about sixteen or so, I think. Not that I had much to shave in those days. Moonpeach fuzz, more like it." He tipped another wink at Zhi. "Why, you think you need a shave tonight?"

Zhi pressed both hands over his mouth, giggling. "Uh uh! LoLo, you know I'm too little!"

He reached a hand down and tested along Zhi's jaw and cheek, chuckling as his giggles blossomed into laughter. "You're tickling me!"

"Hmmm, I don't know, could be smoother! You sure you don't need a shave?" He caught Lin's reflection in the mirror, standing in the bedroom, giving Zhi a fond look. She'd grumble and cuss in that way of hers if anyone brought it up but she was the one taking the boy on his long rambling walks, carrying his net for him and discreetly bending just enough to reveal more of what Zhi called his specimens. He knew how she felt about these children, even if he didn't twit at her about it like her sister. He caught her eye in the mirror and gave her a smile; she flicked her hand at him and stepped back out of sight.

Zhi stepped back and tilted his head to one side, waggling his eyebrows up and down.

"Perhaps I just need a spa day!" He mimicked Wu so well that LoLo had to lean up against the counter, nearly doubling up with his own laughter. Zhi clapped his hands. "I was pretending to be Papa," he crowed. "Was I good at it, LoLo? Was I?"

He took his head into his hands and kissed his his forehead, careful not to get any soap on his already brushed hair. "You nailed it, my boy." He patted the toilet seat, still chuckling. "Now sit down and let me rinse off the soap." He took up a towel and dampened it before wiping off the shaving soap.

"LoLo? Does Lin think your beard is nice?"

He glanced over at Zhi. "Well, I suppose she does." She was partial to the mustache and beard, but not in ways he was going to share with Zhi. He checked himself closely in the mirror, satisfied that he'd gotten rid of all of the soap, patting it dry with the clean end of the towel. He reached over to pluck up his bottle of aftershave, giving it a bit of a shake to make sure it hadn't settled before opening it.

"Is that your cologne?" Zhi leaned forward curiously. "Is it a new smell?"

"That it is. The kind I prefer isn't sold in Republic City, only here in the Fire Nation. I picked some up at one of the shops here this afternoon. This is a new scent, though." He held the bottle out. "What do you think?" 

Zhi took a long and deep sniff. "I think it's nice! What's its name?"

He grinned. "Armadillo Bear."

Zhi made a face. "Well, that's a silly name. I bet real armadillo bears don't smell nice like that." He sniffed at it again. "It smells like the forests outside of Zaofu mixed up with the spice you use when you are making Komodo Chicken for Daddy." Another sniff. "Does Lin like it?"

"She hasn't smelled this one yet, so I couldn't tell you. But she likes aftershave well enough, I think."

Zhi kicked his legs out, nodding slowly. "Is that why gentlemen wear it?  Because ladies like it?"

He smoothed the boy's hair down a little. "Well, some ladies do and some don't." His fingers tightened just slightly. "Some gentlemen too, Zhi. After all, I think your fathers appreciate it when they dress up and smell nice for each other." 

Zhi sniffed again and then nodded decisively. "Well, I like Armadillo Bear, even if it is a silly name."

"Well, maybe you should have a little, hmm?"

Zhi goggled at him. "Is that even legal?"

He threw back his head and roared. "Oh Zhi, my boy, I do love you." The boy's face lit up and he cupped his face affectionately. "Of course you can wear some. After all, you're seven and half years old."

Zhi nodded slowly, considering this. "It is pretty old, after all. I mean, I'm not little like Meili or Pearl."

"That's right." He poured a little into his hands and slapped it along his own face and neck. "What do you think?"

He furrowed his brow in a way that was all Mako. "Well. I guess since I'm going on eight it would be okay." He thrust his chin forward. "Slap some on me, LoLo!"

He put a few drops into his hands and gently patted them into Zhi's cheeks. "Well, now. Would you look at that! With a little aftershave I swear you look at least twelve."

"I do?" Zhi stared at himself in the mirror and then nodded. "I do," he said, very serious. LoLo bit back his own laughter. "Oh LoLo! Do you think San could have some too? After all, he is six whole months older than me!" He clasped his hands together unconsciously, his face hopeful.

"Well, I don't see why not. Seeing as he's so old and all." He nodded towards the door. "Why don't you go find him, bring him on back?"

"Okay! I will! I'll be right back, okay? Don't go anywhere!" Zhi scampered out, those long legs eating up the distance to the bedroom door in two seconds flat. He chuckled to himself as he rinsed off the razor and dried it before cleaning up the sink.

"We'll never hear the end of it now." Lin had a hip cocked up against the doorway, her arms crossed against her chest. She shook her head at him. "Well, let me smell the new crap you put on your face." She snorted. "The forests outside of Zaofu. That boy, I swear."

He presented his cheek to her and she sniffed at it. "Well?"

"It's tolerable, I suppose."

He wrapped his arms around her. "Tolerable, am I?"

"Marginally." She rolled her eyes and with a smile he kissed her, her hands sliding around his torso. "Well fuck me, it does actually smell like the forests outside Zaofu," she said, pulling away from the kiss to smell him again. "Huh." She rejoined the kiss, a hand sliding down to give his ass a little squeeze. "You could buy this one again, I guess."

"You guess, is it?" He pulled her in even closer.

"You're old enough, at least," and he was delighted when she couldn't stop herself from laughing in his embrace.


	28. An Intoxicated Coquetry: Drinks And Dancing At The Drukken Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A good time at an Ember Island nightclub.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by some Beyoncé lyrics and a hilarious chat about Nuo with my Betareader.
> 
> This takes place about a week after the events in [All The Wealth The Past Has Made.](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9423905/chapters/21332510)

“You can all go without me,” Wu wailed, patting at those springy curls of his, the wet air here on Ember Island making sure that even his specially made pomade couldn’t keep them down. “I can’t possibly be seen in front of the general public like this.”

Mako sighed, a pissy sound that meant he was getting real tired of Wu’s shenanigans. Never met a man in my life who could express so much in one sigh as Mako could. “They’re waiting for us, Wu.” He threw open the bedroom door. “Qi, you ready to go?”

“Born ready,” I shot back. I had my fans and knives in both my boots. I figured I could go light tonight, seeing as we’d have everyone else with us.

“Well, you’re not leaving me here!” Wu stuck his chin out the way he does when he’s about to get his King on.

“You know, I always have liked them,” I said, and I sidled up next to him and twirled a curl around my finger. You might think I was just saying it to get him to stop his acting up and head out the door and you’d be right, but I do like his hair, as it happens.

The man turned pink as anything. “Qi!”

“Be a good boy and I’ll take you out on the dance floor.” I bumped my hip against his and he got even redder.

“QI!”

Mako just rolled his eyes. “Let’s go before the kids wake up and I have to deal with Naoki throwing a fit because she’s not invited.”

I grabbed Wu’s hand in mine and pulled him along. It’s not that he wouldn’t come; the only way the man would miss an evening out at a club would be if he was dead and in his grave, and even then I might not put it past him. But he would make us all wait around for an hour while he acted out his own opera about it and Nuo would lose patience and come for him, and then the whole neighborhood would know about it. Best to nip it in the bud.

Bolin and Opal and Wei were waiting for us at the front door; Bolin had gotten all fancy with his mustache wax, twirled up the ends some. Opal was looking real pretty in a yellow dress, her hair pinned back so it showed off her arrows. I wasn’t sure about Wei going - he hasn't been drinking, he's trying to get back on his team - but I promised to keep an eye on him and take him out if it looked like he was going to have anything but water. He wasn’t too sure if he’d be able to resist, you follow? But I was keeping an eye on him and I’d lay yuan Wing would be too.

Huan and Ikki were waiting outside. One or the both of them had taken flowers from the garden and made themselves flower crowns. I wouldn’t mark Ikki as one who’d like to go to a nightclub but on the other hand I didn’t know her very well. She’s always struck me as more of a sweet little countryside-type girl, which is odd, she grew up in Republic City same as me. For that matter, she’s only a year younger than me. Different upbringing, I guess. Mako loves her to bits and pieces, I know, and she makes Huan happy, which is all Wu cares about. I didn’t know how Huan was going to manage a nightclub, but then again, I’m not in charge of Huan. Not my worry.

We met up with the rest of them as we walked over. Wing and Nuo were there, of course. Nuo was wearing a pink dress that was kind of soft and floaty, cut deeper than how she usually wears them. That woman’s got enough cleavage for three women, at least. She’s lucky she’s so short, otherwise she could put someone’s eye out with one of those things. Meelo was there as well, talking to someone a good deal taller than he was. I thought I recognized him, but it was Mako that cinched it.

“That fucking Sitiak,” he muttered, face sour. “What’s he doing here?”

Turned out that Kya was telling Princess Ursa about him and she extended the invitation for him and Kya to go and stay with the Fire Shamans for a month or two, learn how they do the healing there. He’d just arrived that afternoon, and Nuo had sweet-talked him into coming with us.

I’ll just bet she did! She’s always had eyes for him. Not that I blame her, mind. I’ve got eyes for him myself.

By the time we got to The Drukken Dragon it was hopping, the music hot and fast, dancers spilling over into the patio area in the back and even into the street. Poor Wu was overdressed as usual, he must have been roasting in that suit. He looked sharp, though, curls and all. That man does know how to wear a suit. Mako was wearing a pair of linen trousers and damn me but I was ready to jump on that ass and I hadn’t even had anything to drink yet. Down, Qi child. Keep those hands to yourself, at least until you get that fucking marriage contract signed.

Mako and Wing managed to find us a table in the middle of all of that and I went to talk to the bartender, gave him a huge wad of the local currency, told him it was our tab and to make sure he wasn’t serving us no swill. Wu’s a top shelf man and nothing would send his mood south quicker than getting cheap champagne. I also pointed out Wei - easy to make out, he had on one of his flashy Republic City suits, Wing had his matching face but he was wearing a suit that was a sight quieter and nowhere near as tight, although I’d venture to say Nuo was disappointed - and told him, water or the like for that one, no booze, and he’d get extra cash at the end of the night. I’d given him enough that he was amenable. I made a quick visual of the place and most of what I found was partygoers, people just out for some fun as the New Year holiday came to its end. There was one fellow near the door I didn’t like the look of - he wasn’t drinking for one thing, and wasn’t paying attention to the music for another - and I caught Mako’s eye. He’d seen him too. Mako leaned over and said something into Wei’s ear and Wei nodded. Probably no trouble for us in particular, but I don’t take chances. I did a quick circuit, checked the toilets and the exits, scoped out the back before making my way back to the table. Nuo and Wu had already lit into the champagne, heads together, probably plotting to take over the world knowing the two of them. Could have knocked me on my ass with a feather when I saw Huan sipping some as well, making a funny little face over the bubbles. Don’t think I’ve ever seen the man take a drink before. Ikki had a glass as well, laughing as the bubbles went up her nose, holding on to Huan’s hand, grinning around her as she took it all in.

Bolin swung Opal out to the dance floor, staring down at her feet so he wouldn’t step on them. Bless the man, but he’s not a very good dancer. You couldn’t help but smile at him, though, he was so happy to be out there, having a laugh at himself and looking at his wife like she hung the moon. He’s a good man, Bolin, and not as stupid as most people think he is. He just needs time to think things through; he gets there in the end, though. I’ve always liked him and even from the get-go he was always nothing but kind and friendly to me. That counts for a lot in my book.

A pretty girl in a gold dress marched on up and asked Meelo to dance; airbender like him, he made dancing look like no effort at all. He might be downright handsome if he’d cut that hair and shave that scruff off his face. Takes after his Mama in the looks department like Ikki does. I'd had a chance to chat with him a few times in the past two weeks - we'd never really talked before he left with his uncle down south - and I found I liked him. Mako and Bolin were sure glad to see him this trip, they'd been spending a lot of time with him. 

I was watching the dance floor and missed the woman coming my way. About Mako’s age, smelled like rum and smoke. Not really my type, but I caught Wei’s eye and nodded towards Wu; he nodded back and Wing shot me a grin and little salute. So I went ahead and took her out, spun her around the floor for a bit. She expected me to lead, and I can do that just as well as follow; makes no never mind to me. Caught Mako giving me one of his narrow-eyed looks, though, so I pulled her a little closer than I might have otherwise. That man is easy as anything to get worked up; got a bit of a jealous streak he wouldn’t admit for all the gold in Ba Sing Se. I’m playing with fire, I know, but that look gets my engine running, fuck me. Wu took his big nose out of his champagne glass long enough to see me out there and I could practically hear his gasp all the way across the room; he immediately smacked Mako’s arm and pointed at me, offended that I’d be dancing with a stranger, I guess. Mako caught my eyes and held them the rest of the dance. That woman’s lucky he didn’t set her on fire, is what I’m saying. That man does know his way around a glare.

Guess it goes without saying he set me on fire. Fuck.

I’d planned on going back to the table but another woman took hold of me and so I went with it. I don’t normally dance or drink when I’ve got Wu in tow but as I said, he was safe enough with this lot. The song changed and Wei grabbed me; I love to dance with him and we’re good together, got a little showy as he flung me wide and swung me high, the both of us laughing, even though I had to tell him to ease off a bit, my sore ribs still giving me some trouble despite Kya's healing and being taped up the way they were. It’s been awhile since he’s been this fun; used to be we’d go out and have a lot of laughs instead of what it’d been the past year or so, which was him getting no-holds drunk and mean with it. At one point he said into my ear, “I've missed dancing with you so much,” and hell, I damn near cried. I’ve missed him too, believe me. We came back to the table to find Wu and Nuo already through a champagne bottle, just the two of them, Nuo unbuttoning her dress another button or two while she fanned herself, her cheeks bright. Some man walking by saw her doing it and stumbled all over himself, which delighted Nuo to no end, that woman is randy as all get out when she gets liquored up. Wu pointed at me accusingly.

“I saw you out there dancing,” he shouted across the noise, shaking his finger at me like I was one of the kids being naughty. I leaned across the table at him, up real close.

“See it again if you’re real lucky,” I said, and gave his knee a little tickle under the table, trying not to laugh when he squeaked and jumped in his seat. Oh, he’s so easy. Sweet and easy, that’s my Wu. I reckon most people wouldn’t agree, but they don’t know him the way I do. I know he’s smart; I know he’s royalty. I know he’s bossy, believe you me. I see the man underneath all of that, though. Comes down to it, his husband works all day; I’m the one who spends more time with him than anyone else does. How was I supposed to help myself falling in love with the man?

The bartender kept the champagne going; even Mako had a few glasses, and he’s not usually much for bubbles, he’s a whiskey man through and through. Huan quit before he even finished his first glass and Wei and I weren’t drinking but everyone else was enjoying it. Opal was flushed and a little breathless, sitting in Bolin’s lap, and Ikki was amusing herself (and the rest of us) by goosing the dancers with little blasts of air, she and Meelo nearly falling over as the dancers would whip around, accusing someone else of doing it. Silly, but pretty damn funny. I think most folks think that airbenders are stiff and stodgy, but that’s not my experience. Jinora wasn’t really the nightclub type, true, but she wasn’t stuck up about it. Hell, Huan wasn’t the nightclub type either, although he was giving it his best go tonight. I’d wondered how he was handling the noise but then I saw he had his ears stuffed up with cotton wool. Smart! I’d lay odds that was Ikki’s idea.

Sitiak had been sitting next to Wing, chatting with him about something or the other, Wei giving him moon-eyes across the table. Well, at least it wasn’t Bolin, that’s all I’ll say about that. Wei was sticking to the table for the most part, quiet for him. Trying to be a good boy about it, and I have to say I was impressed with how he was trying. Wing was keeping him close, too. I don't know how things are going to go for him in the future, but I suspect our days of clubbing it out might be over. I don't mind. He had me over the other night, he'd actually gone to the market and everything. The man had tried to cook, if you can believe it! It was a disaster, of course, we ended up getting take out from Chin's instead. But I'd promised him that when we got back home I'd get in there with him, teach him what I know. I've learned some over the years, helping out LoLo and all.

I was just thinking that I’d grab Wei and Mako and sneak out for a smoke when Sitiak leaned over and asked me where the bathroom was. I pointed in its general direction; he thanked me in that formal sort of Northern Water Tribe way he has and stood up, excusing himself, doing a little maneuvering to get his very large self around the table without knocking anyone over. Just as he was passing Nuo she reached around and gave his ass a sassy little slap. Sitiak blinked in surprise; Nuo giggled, practically popping right out of that dress. Poor Wu’s eyes nearly popped out themselves; his hands flew up to his cheeks in horror as they turned pink.

“Nuo!”

She just giggled some more, though. “Hello up there, tall, dark and delicious,” she said, batting her eyelashes all the way up to him. I shot a quick glance at Wing, who apparently thought this was the funniest thing he’d ever seen.

“Smack that ass a little harder, honey!”

Wu’s mouth dropped right open. “My gracious!” He was so shocked he forgot all about his champagne. That’s pretty shocked, believe me. “Nuo Beifong! We’re in public!”

“Oh, stuff it, Wu,” she said, not even looking at him. She shoved her hair back and adjusted her breasts, getting down to business. “Imma climb that big man like a tree. Gonna dance with him. I’m gonna.” She stood up. “Hold my drink, Wing.” She thrust her glass at him.

“Go get him, baby.” Wing’s grin got even bigger.

“I’m gonna.” She tried to reach up to grab him by his collar but missed, not being nearly tall enough. The woman barely made it to his armpit in heels. Sitiak looked like he didn’t know what he should do. “Don’t just stand there, you big, delicious man, you. Take me out on the dance floor.” When he didn’t move, she frowned and waved at him. “Whoosh whoosh!”

The man whooshed her out to the dance floor. I honest to fuck thought I was going to cry I was laughing so hard, between the confused look on his face and the horrified look on Wu’s.

“That’s my girl,” Wing shouted at her and finished off her champagne.

“Wing Beifong,” Wu hissed, turning that long finger at him. Oh, he was in a right snit now. “How can you possibly let your wife carry on like...well, like that?”

Wing shrugged, throwing his hands into the air, Beifong style. “He’s on her Exception List. What do you want me to do about it?” He blew a kiss at her out on the dance floor and she reached around and squeezed poor Sitiak’s ass, giggling her own ass off. I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure the man only bends for his own team, if you follow. Not that Nuo seemed to care, mind. Sitiak just stared down at her and then, to the cheers of the Beifongs, suddenly grinned and dipped her all the way to the floor before picking her up bodily like she was a five year old, dancing her around with her feet dangling in the air, looking back over at us with his eyebrows raised up, amused for once. I was glad to see he wasn't taking it the wrong way. He's always been kind of hard to read, Sitiak, but he seemed to be going with it. 

“Oh fuck,” Wei said, a few tears squirting out of his eyes, “I love your wife so much.” Even Mako was laughing, although he tried to put a straight face on when Wu glared at him for it. The rest of us thought it was pretty funny. Sorry, Wu. Nuo is actually a good dancer when it comes down to it, but she’d had a lot to drink and was just falling out of that dress with all of the moves she was making, two feet up in the air and all that bosom completely wasted on Sitiak. She’s normally in total control, it was a damn treat to see her like this. (It goes without saying, I hope, that we were just having some fun. One of us would have gone out there and fetched her if we’d thought Sitiak was actually offended or put off by her. He wasn’t, so we let it be. She was just letting her hair down for once.)

“Aren’t I on your Exception List?” Huan was looking at me hopefully. He was, as it happens. Huan’s a damn good looking man, and that long black hair of his is gorgeous. I liked his tattoos; liked his body type, too. Always did like my men on the leaner side. But more than that, I liked him. Those things about him that put most people off - how differently he thinks from the rest of us, how he sometimes can’t find the words he needs, how he’s so often in his own world - I never had minded them. There was something in him that I recognized from myself; he was someone who moved between two worlds, who wasn’t tied down by the world’s expectations. Like called to like, I suppose. I knew he wasn’t really a sexual man, but it wasn’t about that for me. I didn’t really want to fuck him, not like I was dying to do to Mako. It wasn’t about getting off. I just wanted to be someone he’d think of as a connection, as someone he could trust with everything, and that would include his body as well as his mind. Like he is with Wu. I don’t know. I’m not explaining it very well, I guess.

I smiled at him, though. “You are, yeah.”

“So do I get to dance with you?” He ducked his head and smiled, and I held out my hand. He took it in his surprisingly strong grip and came with me as I led him to the floor. “I don’t know this dance,” he told me, but I winked at him, leaning in close so he could hear me.

“I’ll lead, you just follow along. We’ll be fine. Leave it to me.”

“Okay, Qi,” he said, and as the song slowed into a quiet beat I put my arms around him and he nestled his head onto my shoulder. “Thank you,” he said into my ear, and all impulsive-like I kissed his cheek. Not trying to be sexy, mind! Just because he was there and I felt tender towards the man. He liked it, I could tell. I liked it too.

I kept my arms around him and swayed him along until the music changed and he nodded into me. “Thank you. I have to go now, this place is too much.” So I led him back to Ikki and she was smiling at me. _Thank you,_ she mouthed, and said her quick goodbyes to everyone else before holding on to him and guiding him out of the club. I looked back at the table and there were two out of three Beifongs, both smiling at me. They’re all tight like that. Hurt one Beifong, you hurt them all. Same goes if you do a good turn for one of them, though.

I’d been paying so much attention to keeping Huan from getting banged around the dance floor that I’d missed Nuo and Sitiak. He’d disappeared - to the toilet? Bending himself across the ocean back to Republic City? Couldn’t tell you - but Nuo was out with Wing, dancing up a storm, still giggling as he easily threw her around, him being built like the side of a mountain the way he was. They were having a grand old time. I sat down next to Wei and he slung an arm around me, just like he always used to. Opal leaned over and kissed my cheek, something she sure as hell had never done before. “He was so happy,” she said. “Thank you, Qi.”

Any more thank-yous and I was going to sink through the floor, so I yanked on Wei and made him take me out for another dance or two before Sitiak came back and cut in on me, tearing it up with him on the dance floor, much to my surprise and Wei's eternal happiness, I can guarantee it. I really wanted to dance with Mako but that was a bad idea. I’d been pushing it with him for awhile now and while he wasn’t drunk he wasn’t exactly sober either. I would have done it if we’d been alone but we weren’t. As it was a few people had recognized Bolin and had tried to bug him for autographs. Mako had chased them off and Opal had sent one particularly persistent woman packing with nothing more than one of those glares the Beifong women have perfected. Wei gets recognized a fair amount in Republic City and of course Wu does as well but over here on Ember Island? No one really knew who we were. That being the case, I did take Wu out on the dance floor, had some fun with him. Wu’s a damn good dancer, and the more he drinks the looser he gets. At one point I’d dipped him and he blinked up at me. “Oh Qi, I think I’m a little drunk,” he said, those green eyes of his so big and his curls all over his head and I couldn’t help myself, I gave him a little kiss on the mouth right then and there and next thing I know, Nuo’s whistling through her teeth and the Beifongs were cheering me along and Mako was giving me such a look that I knew I’d pay for it later.

You just bring it on then, boy. You’re not the only one who can play with fire. I’ll kiss him and if you don’t like it you’d best speak up now or forever hold your peace. Because Lin’s been talking to me, and I have plans. And those plans don’t include waiting for you to figure out what you want or how you feel.

I know what I want, and I’m taking it. See if I don’t.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to the Tumblr anon for the name of the nightclub!


	29. An Elemental Remembrance: Honoring Those That Are Gone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remembering those that have passed on.

Mako leaned down to tug Meili's knit cap back over her ears. "It's getting cold," he murmured, and readjusted her scarf as well. The wind had picked up off the bay, the air raw and damp and Meili was shivering a bit. Last year the sky had been lit with stars; this year it was sullen, heavy with dark clouds that the lanterns they'd brought with them were barely putting a dent into. Tenzin had said earlier that he thought they'd get an early snowfall by morning. If Tenzin said so, then Mako'd believe him; he'd never known Tenzin to get the weather wrong yet.

Bolin shifted next to him, his eyes already full of tears. Mako slid his free arm around him and Bo turned to him, smile watery. "Oh boy," was all he said, but Mako knew what he meant. He'd done the boat for their father, painted in bright colors, with what Mako was pretty sure was supposed to be fruit. Art had never really been Bolin's thing, but Mako loved him for trying. There was a small pebble in the boat, nestled next to the white candle.

His own boat, the traditional simple vessel of thin acacia wood, was left, for the most part, unadorned. He'd painted  _Mama_ on the prow; underneath, where no one could see it, was the character for _sister_. He had no way of knowing, of course, if the baby his mother had been carrying when she was killed had been a girl or a boy, but he'd been hoping for a little sister. When he'd first started pro-bending he'd gone by where their old house had been with some wild idea that he'd be able to make enough money to buy it back. Foolish of him. It wouldn't have mattered if he'd had all of the money the in the world, though. At some point their little house, with the yellow bedroom he and Bo had shared and the flowerbeds that Mama had kept up so beautifully had been torn down, replaced by a politely prosperous two-story house that looked just the same as the houses around it. They'd had an absolutely gorgeous old maple tree in the backyard that had served a key part in many of their childhood games, as well. His mother had loved that tree, the twisting trunk and branches and the changing colors of the leaves. She'd said they looked like his eyes in the autumn and then like Bo's eyes in the spring and she'd always kept two leaves, one from each season, tucked into the frame of her mirror in her bedroom. He remembered that tree; remembered helping his Daddy rake up the leaves, remembered him pushing them on the swing he'd tied to its branches while his mother waved at them, smiling, from the kitchen window. He'd stood on the sidewalk and wept when he realized that whomever had bought their old house had cut it down.

Mako's eyes were brimming again. You couldn't go back. He knew this. If his parents were still alive he wouldn't have Wu, or the kids, or Qi or Korra or any of them, really, except Bo. He loved his life, loved the people in it, he would never want to give them up. But sometimes he wished he could see his parents just one more time; see his father's big grin and hear his mother's soft, sweet soprano, singing the Fire Nation songs she'd learned as a girl. He wished he could tell them goodbye, tell them once more how much he loved them. He knew that they knew; he had children of his own now, and their love for him was everywhere, easy to see. But he'd like to tell them, just the same.

He'd planted a maple tree himself in their garden when he and Wu had first moved in to the mansion by the park, and it was a bit of dirt from its roots that he had placed inside his mother's boat.

Bo held their father's boat towards him, and Mako lit both of the candles. He had to hold the flame steady; it flickered and sputtered as the wind caught it, trying to grab it away from them. He took Bolin's hand in his, the way he had held it when the people had come to take them to the orphanage, fingers tightly entwined, trying as best he could to shield his brother from the storm that was rolling their way, then and now. The tide was in and the waves tried to capture their feet as they pushed their boats into the sea together, the boats bobbing and dipping along the surface of the water. His practical self assumed that the boats would sink fairly quickly; however, there was a small part of him that liked to imagine that they'd just go on sailing, farther and farther until there was nothing left of them but ash.

When they were children he and Bo had always done this with bits of scavenged newsprint they'd cover with melted wax before fastening the stubs of candles inside; the remembrances of the poor, sent out into the scummy water of the marshes on the outskirts of town. Anyone was supposed to be able to send a boat out in any of Republic City's ponds but it wasn't like that in practice, not really. Street urchins were not welcome there. They'd first sent their boats into the sea when they had come to stay out on the Island years back and it had become a tradition now. They'd all come over from the mainland, his family and Bo's, Korra and Asami, joining Tenzin and the rest on this night of memories.

Bolin hugged him tightly before walking back to Opal, taking a well-bundled Pearl out of her arms to kiss her while tears rolled down his cheeks unchecked. Mako stayed close to the water's edge, however. It was for firebenders to light the candles, when firebenders were to be had.

Tenzin and Kya had their hands full of boats; three painted with the traditional colors of the Water Tribe and one painted in yellow and red. Tenzin caught his eye and glanced down at the boats; he walked over and lit all four of the candles for them. Tenzin nodded gravely and Kya gave him a smile, kissing one of the boats as she sent it off with a little push of her bending. "Sail well, my love," she said, and then wrapped an arm around Tenzin's waist, the two of them standing at the water's edge, heedless of the water seething around their boots.

Asami was next, her boats painted a simple and elegant white. Korra lit both of them for her and off they went into the night while Asami's eyes filled with tears, Korra holding her hand. Shan, one of the airbenders, had lost a baby earlier in the year and her boat was heartbreakingly small. Mako couldn't bear to look at it. She and her air acolyte husband held each other as Korra lit their candle, Shan's soft sobbing only heard in snatches over the whine of the wind. Wu's boat had been painted a delicate green and was covered with gold ink; he wrote a poem for his mother every year before sending it back to her. He never made a boat for his father. Mako lit it for him and leaned down to kiss him on the cheek before Wu pressed a gentle kiss from his fingers to its prow before he sent it into the inky water.

Qi's boat had a small sail, fashioned of wood and silk, embroidered with lilies. Mako lit it and the fire surged eagerly towards the silk as Kya eased it forward into the water for Qi. Meili was still shivering and as Qi walked away from the water Qi scooped her up, opening Qi's jacket to wrap it around her, holding her close. LoLo had lit Lin's candle for her and her face was grim, watching the plain boat skip across the waves. LoLo's own boat, the one he set afloat every year for his baby brother, danced its colorful way across the waves, tangling into Qi's boat before darting away again. LoLo smiled gently as he watched it. Kai shot his two boats across the cove with his bending, the candles almost immediately winking out. He turned his back on the water to walk back towards Jinora, who was holding her hand out to him.

"Daddy?" Mako glanced down to see Zhi, a carefully painted boat in his hands. It had been decorated with Zhi's drawings of butterflies; done with some skill. Several months back Wu had gotten him a drawing master to help him learn to sketch down his bugs when he found them and Zhi, who had never shown much interest in drawing before, had been practicing and improving. "I hope you don't mind. I made a boat for me and Naoki. For our Mamas, you know. Is it okay?"

Mako met Wu's eyes over Zhi's head. Wu smiled down at Zhi. "My darling, I think that is a beautiful and a very thoughtful thing to do."

"It's more than okay, buddy." Mako cupped the back of Zhi's head in his gloved hand.

Naoki reached out a finger to trace one of the butterflies and Mako was startled to see a tear slip down her cheek. "You didn't say anything."

"I didn't know if you wanted me to. I can just say it is mine if you don't want to." Zhi's eyes went wide as Naoki threw her arms around him and squeezed him.

"Next year I can help you paint it, okay?" Naoki kissed him on his cheek. "Come on, I'll light it." The two of them walked to the water's edge together, Naoki gravely putting a bit of sand into the boat before lighting the candle. Together they pushed it into the water. It floundered a bit, but Mako caught Korra giving it a discreet little nudge to send it sailing. Zhi put his hand into Naoki's and they stood there together, fingers entwined.

The wind had picked up; it was icy and biting, and the airbenders were the only ones not huddling away from it. Some years people liked to linger near the waves for hours, watching the boats and thinking of the ones they had lost. Mako suspected that this year most of them would be heading indoors, however. Pema was already making her way through the people there, letting them know that the annual feast was ready inside. A hand gripped his arm; Korra nodded towards the the path leading up to the main house. "Take your kids inside before they freeze to death," she said.

"You sure?"

She nodded. "I'll stay here until everyone else is ready to go in. I'm not cold." Mako was sure she wasn't. She never was.

"Should I take Asami?" He and Korra looked over at her, standing alone, head bent, shoulders trembling a little.

"Yeah. Please." He nodded at her and she put her arms around him and hugged him. "I'm sorry for your loss," she said, and he returned her hug before walking over to put his hand gently to Asami's elbow, guiding her towards the path. Wu had already gathered Naoki and Zhi; Qi was halfway up the path with Meili. Lin had an arm around Opal's shoulders; he wasn't sure what she was saying, but Opal was smiling a bit, Bolin following along behind with Pearl and the boys.

"Korra will stay," he said to LoLo, and he nodded in return, gallantly offering his arm up to Asami, who took it, eyes rimmed with red. 

Mako gave one last look down at the cove before sighing, turning to make his way back to the house. There would be hot tea inside, and good food. They'd talk about their loved ones through the night; remembering the good times with them while shedding some tears. Eventually they'd all slip away to beds there on the Island; either their own or in one of Pema's guest rooms. 

In the morning the world would be covered with new snow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today is Pyhäinpäivä (All Saints' Day) in Finland; a day of remembrance. I wrote this in memory of my wife.
> 
> Minä rakastan sinua, kultaseni. What is remembered lives.
> 
>  


	30. An Exhilarating Naughtiness: Sliding in the Ballroom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well-polished marble floors and socks!

Naoki's guffaw echoed across the expanse of marble. "Wipe out!" She slid a little herself as she jogged over to hoist Bu up by the arm. "Pretty good distance, almost to the second window!" Bu beamed back at her, rubbing at his behind. "You okay?" Bu nodded up at her and she ruffled at his hair before kissing at the top of his head. "Great job, Bu."

"San weighs the most though, so I bet he'll get past the third window!" Zhi was hopping from one foot to the other in his excitement, not caring that he had wiped out before the first window, even. "Go on, San! Do it!"

San flashed a grin, the one that Qi called Beifong charm, the one that Uncle Wei always gave Papa when he was trying to get something out of him. "Yeah, okay, here I go!" He launched himself explosively across the floor, slipping just a little in the beginning, his legs pumping hard, before throwing himself into a slide, his knees bent and his stockinged feet flying across the floor. Naoki cheered as he flew past the first and second windows of the ballroom, slowing down until he came to a stumbling stop just past the third window.

"Yes!" Zhi was so excited he was jumping up and down, landing with a thump as his feet went out from under him and he spilled to the floor. "Oh ow!"

San leapt up and put his fists into the air above his head; half sprinting, half sliding around in a winner's circle. "Beifong takes it all!"

"Hey, Meili and Naoki haven't slid yet, so technically you can't call yourself the winner, though." Zhi had gotten back up and was taking Meili's hand in his. "Don't you want to slide, Fishy?"

Meili looked down her little nose and shook her head. "No, I don't. My nice socks will get dirty. And I could fall down."

"Aw, nobody cares if your socks get dirty, they'll just get washed. And it doesn't hurt too much if you fall down." Both Meili and Zhi shot a look over at Bu, who was still rubbing at his butt. Meili just shook her head.

"No, I won't." Meili's arms crossed against her chest and her lower lip started poking out. Everybody knew where that was going to lead, so Naoki dove right on in there.

"That's okay, she doesn't have to. Tell you what, Fishy, you can be the prize giver, okay?" 

"I can give the prize? What prize?" Meili clapped her hands in excitement, pouting forgotten.

"I dunno, you're the prize giver, you have to decide." Naoki squinted down the length of the ballroom. No bending allowed, of course, it wasn't fair to Zhi. Didn't mean she couldn't strategize, though.

"I'll give a nice pretty kiss," Meili said, nodding her head in satisfaction. "It's a nice prize."

"It's a great prize," Naoki agreed, and took a deep breath. "Okay, out of the way everybody, I'm going." She took off running, her toes turned in just slightly so she wouldn't slip and threw herself sideways into the slide, crouching low to surf on the slick floor the way she did on Daddy's surfboard, her braids flying behind her. She kept her body low and tight, riding the slide until she came to a stop before glancing over. She had made it just to the end of the third window. With a groan she flopped down onto the floor. "Oh, come on! San still won!"

"Who's the man? I'm the man!" San launched himself into the air in triumph, Bu throwing his arms around his waist, bouncing along with him. "Beifongs rule! Hou-Tings drool!"

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that." Papa was standing in the entrance to the ballroom, his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes were all narrowed down; that always meant somebody was busted. They all scrambled up guiltily, except for Meili, who walked over to Papa with her eyes all big, Little Miss Perfect.

"I wasn't sliding, Papa. My slippers are on." As Papa looked down at her Zhi stuck his tongue out at her back.

"Mmmm," was all Papa said. "I believe I have expressly forbidden you children to play in here, haven't I?" They all shifted, shooting each other looks. Naoki shoved a braid back over her shoulder and stood up very straight.

"It's my fault, Papa. I was the one who suggested it." 

Papa nodded slowly. "I see. And you forced everyone else to come with you? Threw flame at them?"

Naoki shook her head, indignant that he would even say it. "Papa! You know I would never!"

"Well, I might allow that Bu would get pulled into this, knowing Bu. But the rest of you know better, don't you?" They all exchanged guilty looks again.

"Sorry, Papa," said Zhi in a very small voice, his eyes filling up with tears. Zhi hated to have anyone mad at him, he'd cry for hours over it. Papa looked at him for a long moment and then sighed. 

"Never mind, then. I came looking for you to tell you that LoLo has made a snack and he and Pearl are waiting for you. Why don't you go on and see what he's made you? I think you'll like it. Go on, then." As they all trooped past him, Papa reached out to cup Zhi's chin in his hand. "Never mind, Zhi. No more tears, now. All right?" Zhi nodded before throwing his arms around Papa's waist for a quick hug before skidding quickly to catch up with San. Before she could leave with the rest of them Papa gestured her over; she walked towards with her head held high. Lin told her that sometimes bad choices meant consequences and that you had to stand up and take those consequences when you were a grown up. Naoki was only eleven, but she guessed she could take consequences. Hopefully they weren't too bad, though.

Papa didn't say anything at first, just put his arm around her, gazing about the ballroom. "You remember the throne room from when we visited the palace in Ba Sing Se last year, yes?"

Naoki wasn't sure where he was going with this, but she nodded. "Yes, Papa."

"I didn't go there very often, only for official things where I was trotted out as the crown prince. I've told you before that Hou-Ting wanted nothing to do with me; mostly I stayed in my own wing of the palace. If I was lucky, I'd only see her once or twice a week." He smoothed one of her braids down. "I was never allowed to play in there, of course. It was strictly forbidden. Naturally I thought about sliding in there; who wouldn't?" He smiled a little at that. "It was twenty times the size of this room and all marble that was polished until it gleamed every single night while the rest of us were sleeping."

"They made people clean it every single day?" Naoki was surprised at this. The maids only cleaned in here twice a month unless there was going to be a party or something.

"They certainly did. It would never do to have even a single speck of dust at the palace." He sighed. "I wasn't allowed to play. I do remember having a few toys when I was small, but they sent my Nanny away when my father died and took my toys as well. After that I was allowed to read or play Pai Sho, that sort of thing."

"Is that why you are so good at Pai Sho?"

He smiled down at her. "Lots of practice, yes." He winked as well. "Also, I'm sneaky. It's why your father is such a terrible player. Not a sneaky bone in his body." He looked back out at the ballroom and was quiet for another moment. "Once, when I was about Zhi's age, the urge overcame me and I did slide down the long corridor in my wing of the palace. I was caught, of course. I was never really allowed to be alone, there were always Dai Li or servants about."

"Did you get in big trouble?"

He nodded slowly. "I did, yes. It wasn't behavior fitting for a prince."

"Sozui slides in his throne room. He told me that sometimes his Uncle Iroh slides with him."

Papa's smile was a little sad. "Well, Izumi is quite a different ruler than Hou-Ting was. She disliked children, for one thing, and for another, I think she was wary of me turning out like my father."

"You don't talk about him very much. Was he a bad man?"

Papa sighed, and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "Yes. He was. And someday I will tell you about it, when you are older. But not today, all right?" She nodded and entwined her fingers into his. Papa squeezed her hand gently and brought it up to his lips, kissing it absently before pulling her in close and tucking her arm into his. She nestled her head against his chest. "In any case, I got caught sliding, and so of course there was to be punishment." His voice wobbled just slightly and Naoki was shocked to look up and see that his eyes were full of tears. 

"Papa! Are you crying?"

"Well, sometimes memories hurt, my darling. And this one does. When I was a naughty boy, what do you think they did with me?"

Naoki thought about this for a moment. "Well, when we are naughty we have to go to our room or maybe we don't get to do something fun, like when I had to stay home last week when the rest of you went for ice cream because I told Madame Wang she was a big hairy wolfbat."

Papa's mouth twitched just slightly. "Yes. Well. It is not appropriate to say that sort of thing to people, especially not your elders. Even when they are behaving like big hairy wolfbats, which Madame Wang is wont to do." He cleared his throat. "In any case, that is not what happened to me."

"It's not?"

Papa shook his head. "There was a law in the former Earth Kingdom that said that no one was allowed to strike a member of the royal family. Not even the Earth Monarch could strike another member of his or her family. So I was not allowed to be spanked."

Naoki's mouth dropped open and she took a step away from him. "But Papa! We never get spanked!"

Papa's mouth tightened up. "Naoki, I do not believe in striking a child for any reason and neither does your father or Qi or Lin or LoLo for that matter. I would never allow a child to be struck in my home. It's barbarous and I will not have it."

"But Papa...I don't understand. If you weren't allowed to be spanked then what did they do?"

Her father looked her right in the eyes. "They found a little boy from the streets that was about my age and they whipped him instead. With a cane, which is terribly terribly painful and can cause a person to bleed and leave scars, even."

Naoki felt cold all over. "But...Papa. Papa. They...they would really do that?" She reached over and Papa took her back into his arms.

"Yes, my darling," he whispered into her hair. "That is exactly what they did. And they made me watch it."

Naoki started to cry. She couldn't help it. "Papa, I didn't know anyone could be so mean."

"Oh, my darling, darling girl. People can be very cruel indeed. It's how they kept me from misbehaving. I was so afraid and felt so guilty about it. I still do."

She pulled back. "But Papa! It wasn't your fault! Everybody's naughty sometimes! Even Meili's naughty sometimes, and she's probably the best girl in the world."

That actually got a little chuckle out of him. "The sneakiest girl in the world, maybe." He kissed her again and then dug in his pocket for a handkerchief, which he handed over. "My head knows it, darling. But I'm afraid that my little boy's heart will never stop feeling terrible about it." She mopped at her eyes a little and Papa kept his arms around her. Hugging Papa wasn't like hugging Daddy; Daddy was so tall and so big and strong, sometimes he had whiskers that tickled and he always held on tight. Qi was a little shorter than Papa but Qi had lots of muscles and always kept a firm hand on your back when you were getting a hug so that you knew you were safe. Papa was very thin but with soft skin and he always smelled just a little bit like flowers. Papa would smooth your hair back and rock you to and fro, just a little bit, and he was doing that to her right then. "So you see, Naoki, it may sound a little silly to you, but when I saw you children playing in here it frightened me."

"It did?"

"Oh yes. I felt like someone was going to get in trouble for being naughty, and that feeling frightens me. It always has, ever since I was a small boy." Papa kissed the top of her head. "I know that it's foolish. And in any case, what does it matter if you children play in here? No one comes here unless there is a party, and I always have it cleaned before then anyhow. Any marks on the floor would be buffed right out." 

"You mean it's okay if we want to slide in here?" She looked up him hopefully, and he smiled down at her.

"I am saying that it is okay. Just please try not to smash anything, including your heads. I am very fond of your heads, after all." He took the hankie out of her hand and blotted at her eyes before blotting at his own. "Now then. I know for a fact that LoLo made won-tons for a snack, and I know how much you love them. Hopefully San has left some for the rest of us." He put an arm around her and turned towards the door.

"But Papa, we can't leave yet." She grinned at her father as he arched an eyebrow at her. "You need to slide, Papa. Come on. You know you want to."

Papa said nothing for a moment and then his mouth curved up in a big smile. Naoki loved that smile. That smile meant that every single thing in the world was going to be okay. He bent down and slid off his house slippers, one by one, putting them neatly together. "I have never actually done this before," he confessed, still smiling. "I'm not quite sure how to go about it."

"I'll show you! You just have to take a running start from the hallway and then once you get to the doors you start to slide! Crouch down low, like when Daddy is surfing! Look, watch me do it." She ran into the hallway and then turned about, running for all she was worth before flinging herself into the slide, whooping with glee. "Your turn, Papa!"

Papa had a hand to his chin, tapping it, and he was laughing. "Well, if I break something, go and fetch Qi. Please don't tell your father, he'd never let me live it down." He marched into the hallway and then turned to face her. "So just run and then when I hit the doors I slide?"

"Don't forget to go low!" Naoki demonstrated. Papa nodded and then, with a little frown on his face, ran towards the door, dropping low into a perfect crouch, flying across the floor as Naoki ran alongside him, cheering wildly, before his foot went out from under him and his arms pinwheeled as he tumbled awkwardly to the floor and lay there in a heap, face down, shoulders shaking. "Papa! Are you okay?"

Papa turned over to face her, and he was laughing so hard he'd gone silent with it, and she started to giggle as well, dropping down next to him.

"Did you really just slide across this floor?" Daddy was in the doorway, hands on his hips, eyebrows raised. He stared down at Papa on the floor and slowly started to smile, tipping his head to the side and then shaking it, a look that only Papa (and sometimes Qi) got. "You'll break your damn neck," he said, but Naoki could tell he wasn't mad at all.

"Oh, help me up," Papa said, still laughing, and Daddy did just that.


	31. A Melismatic Perplexity: Qi Sings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Archived from a Tumblr prompt.
> 
> Someone sings.

Mako wasn’t even bothering with the glass by now, just drinking the whiskey straight from the bottle. He’d grabbed it right out of the bartender’s hand, dropping a wad of yuan in its place, ignoring her amused snort. He was aware, dimly, that he was far drunker than he should be in a neighborhood that wasn’t exactly kind to anyone incapacitated.

He didn’t care.

Qi was singing. Standing up on the little stage of their favorite bar, that husky, whispery voice crooning sass into the microphone. He knew that’s just how Qi’s voice was naturally, but something about how it was amplified in the small, crowded space went straight to his dick. Qi’d put on some lipstick at some point, the deep, glossy red of it a mere breath away from the mic. Which was also kind of dick-shaped if you thought about it.

Shit. He needed to stop drinking. Right after this next swallow. Qi was singing. Something about letting Daddy do that, and Qi was looking straight at him, grinning. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.

_Now keep a-churnin’ till the butter comes,_  Qi sang with a wink and one of the men sitting right below the stage stood up and made a laughing lunge for them. Qi neatly sidestepped it of course - a grabby man was nothing that Qi couldn’t handle with their eyes closed and one hand tied behind their back - but he was too drunk to stop himself from surging up from his own chair and yanking that asshole back by his collar. He shouted; Mako shouted back and the next thing he knew he was ducking out of a punch and throwing one back of his own. A woman let out with an indignant screech and bit him, and then it was on, fists flying and glasses crashing to the floor. An arm reached around to hold him back and he stumbled, trying to twist around to get a shot in.

“If we get caught I’m blaming you,” came Qi’s voice in his ear, laughing and they pulled him away, a sure shot through the gleefully violent chaos to the front door, the cooler, damp air on the street hitting him like a slap to the face. “Come on before the cops show up, you’ll never live it down.” Down the street and into an alley they went, Qi holding his hand, not running, but moving quickly, with purpose. They took a few twists and turns through unfamiliar territory, ending up somehow in the garish lights of Bridge Avenue. 

“You going to put that bottle down now?” Mako blinked down at his left hand, still clutching at the bottle. He hadn’t even realized he was still holding it.

“Shit.”

Qi took it out of his hand, handing what was left of it over to a passing group of rowdy students, still in their academic robes, who thanked them enthusiastically. “Come on, let’s go get some noodles, sober you up a little before we go home.”

He followed for a few steps before stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, ignoring the curse of the woman who nearly plowed into him, glaring as she detoured around the both of them. “Since when do you sing?”

Qi just smiled, and leaned forward to kiss him, the red lipstick smearing across his mouth. “I’m full of little surprises. Keep up, now.” Without looking back, Qi sauntered across the street.

He tried his best to keep up.


	32. A Retrospective Performance: Naoki's Class Puts On A Play

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even Republic City has school plays!
> 
> Written for the Different POV Challenge on Tumblr. Prompt from Ann!

"Come along now, children, it's almost time!" Yuwen resisted sighing as she gently herded Chien back towards the auditorium. Now where did he think he was going? She did a quick count; yes, all fifteen of her students were there.

"Miss Yuwen, is it full? Is everyone there?" Iwa was wringing her hands together nervously. She turned to Naoki, standing next to her. "I think I'm going to throw up."

Naoki sidled to the side. "Don't do it on me!" Not that she could blame her. Poor Iwa had a delicate stomach and had a tendency to vomit in stressful situations. 

"Now, Iwa, there is nothing to be nervous about. We've rehearsed and we all know our parts. And it is only your families, after all." She gave her most encouraging smile. Iwa did not look convinced.

Naoki tucked her arm in hers. "Do you know what my Papa said? He said when he used to give royal addresses he was really scared, so he used to imagine everyone standing in their underwear." She grinned. "Like, even the Queen. And his Grand Secretariat. I bet they wore weird old people underwear, too."

Yuwen fought down a laugh. Leave it to Naoki to manage to drag people's underclothes into it. "Well. That's quite a unique perspective, Naoki."

Naoki's grin widened. "Right?" She nudged at Iwa. "If you hurl maybe they'll think it's part of the performance."

Hyun snickered. "You'll be the star of the show, Iwa." The rest of the children started to giggle. Nerves, she knew. Her class had gotten ambitious this year; they were putting on a version of first Avatar Wan's story, as related by the current Avatar, Korra. Naoki was playing Wan himself; it had been a unanimous vote. She had a few other benders in her class but none of them could compare to Naoki, and they all knew it. She was dressed in rather artful looking rags, her hair pinned tightly to her head in order to look short. She'd shown up that evening with a goatee drawn on her chin with cosmetics; apparently her grandmother had done it for her, based on Avatar Korra's description. Iwa was dressed in gossamer robes of white and blue to represent Raava as a spirit and Hyun was in red and black as Vaatu, a role which he was quite thoroughly enjoying. (Chien had attached a white and blue ribbon to a teapot to represent Raava diminished; he was always clever that way.) Shy little Uthai was representing all of the lionturtles, shuffling along inside her rather large costume, bumping into walls as she tried to see out of the not quite even eye holes. Yuwen fervently hoped she would not fall off of the stage. Wai pushed up his glasses, the script in his hands, dressed in his finest. He would be narrating the performance, and thankfully he was taking it quite seriously. He had several pages worth.

"Alright, children, let me go and see if everyone seems to be here. Please don't go anywhere. Chien, this means you." She hurried to peer at the audience through the heavy velvet curtain. The room was full; families were murmuring together as they waited for the performance to start. She spied Naoki's family front and center; Prince Wu himself, his consort, the other two children and the other members of the house as well. Sitting to their side was a man she didn't recognize but it was clear that others did; two boys were staring at him, wide-eyed, pointing until their mother shushed them. She recognized Avatar Korra, of course; she had been kind enough to attend a rehearsal, giving notes and seeming to genuinely enjoy the children's enthusiasm. She recognized the Avatar's wife from the newspapers. Although San Beifong, Naoki's younger cousin, was not in her class she still knew him as well as his famous father. The woman sitting with them, tattooed with blue arrows and who so strongly resembled San, must have been his mother. (Apparently San's siblings were both airbenders and therefore would not be attending Plumwood Academy.) The unknown man leaned over to say something to San's mother; she gave him a quelling look and as the family resemblance became apparent she thought he might be San and Naoki's uncle the pro-bender. She didn't follow the sport herself, but several of her students did and Naoki's uncle had been mentioned more than once.

That Master Tenzin and his family were there was due to Naoki as well, she assumed. It was not often that the airbenders came to silly little things like a school play!

Naoki's brother turned to say something to his father; the Prince smiled down at him and gently patted his knee. He had a tutor at home, she'd been told. Madame Ume, the headmistress, had not been happy about it, indignant at what she perceived as a slight towards the school. Her younger sister would most likely attend when she was old enough, however. She was a beautiful child, clearly of Water Tribe descent; Naoki had mentioned once that she was a waterbender. Curious, she watched her for a moment. She had none of Naoki's restless energy; she sat in her chair perfectly still, her feet crossed at the ankles, her hands resting politely in her lap, her curls held back with an elaborate bow. She wondered what was going through that head of hers. Most children showed all of their emotion on their faces; not this girl. 

"Miss Yuwen, Iwa says she's going to throw up again," Chien informed her, tugging his costume as Bad Villager #2 back into place.

"Oh dear," she replied, and hurried back to calm her down before the worst happened.

 

Iwa did not, thankfully, vomit. Uthai did not fall off the stage; however, she did trip and hit the floor with a horrified squawk. Naoki broke character long enough to say, "Hey, are you okay, Uthai?" as she helped her up before grinning at the audience and saying, "Some slight technical difficulties, one moment, please." Yuwen had to pinch her arm to stop herself from laughing along with the spectators. It was true that Hyun's final scene as Vaatu was quite a bit longer and more involved than what they had rehearsed; Wai had said, "And the evil Vaatu would remain imprisoned in the tree through time," four times before he finally stomped his foot and shouted it, with Naoki giving an improvised kick to Hyun's backside to ensure he crawled into Tree of Time the class had built from paper and wire.

Naoki had been wonderful. Chien had come up with the idea of different colored scarves to represent the different types of bending; Naoki could firebend of course, but when the other children had suggested it she had shaken her head firmly. "Too dangerous in that small space with all of you running around," she'd said, and refused to be cajoled into it. The scarves had been a perfect touch; Naoki knew enough of the other types of bending to make her moves realistic as well. She had, at one point, put a little too much spring in her step and had flown right off the stage, much to Iwa's surprise. She'd played it off, however, bending with her scarves through the crowd, grinning, before jumping back up to the stage like it had been written that way.

When it was over and the children came out to bow, the crowd gave enthusiastic applause; the Avatar blasted a long whistle through her teeth that had Madame Ume gasping at the impropriety of it all. (Not that Madame would say a word; even she wouldn't dare take the Avatar to task.) There was a reception after with tea and little cakes; the parents mingled with the children, still flushed with their success, and she was congratulated numerous times.

"I would like to thank you for a truly lovely evening, Miss Yuwen." Naoki's father was at her elbow, beaming at her. "We really quite enjoyed it. The children were marvelous."

"Oh thank you, Your Highness." Out of the corner of her eye she saw Madame give her a satisfied look. She considered having Naoki at the school quite a coup, that was for certain. The prince gestured and his daughter approached. "Miss Yuwen, this is my youngest, Meili. She will be attending the Academy in two years. Meili, this is Miss Yuwen, Naoki's teacher." The girl bowed correctly to her; enough to be respectful while still taking into consideration the fact that she was a princess.

"It is my honor to meet you, Miss Yuwen," she said. "Naoki likes you very much." She found herself smiling at this.

"I like Naoki as well," she replied. Her father gave her a nod and with another little bow the girl left them, walking over to her grandmother.

"Oh Papa, San wants to show me where his classroom is. May I go?" A boy dashed up to them, nearly skidding to a stop. This was the crown prince, she believed. She had thought him several years younger than Naoki but she wasn't sure, this close to him. He was tall for his age, if so.

"You may, but let me introduce Naoki's teacher first." His father's smile was indulgent.

The boy turned to her with a bow. "Oh, are you Miss Yuwen?" His face lit up. "Naoki talks about you all the time. Is it true that you will be teaching chemistry this year? I read all of her schoolbooks and I did all of the experiments from the chemistry one at home already. I just know she's going to love the one," here he leaned in close and whispered, "where it catches on fire." He looked carefully until he saw Naoki speaking to Master Tenzin across the room. "Because she's a firebender, you know." His smile was sweet and expectant and she found herself returning it.

"Well, I suppose she will like that one. Did you say you had done all the experiments?" She felt her brows raise of their own accord.

"Oh yes! You see, I went through all the books at the library but Daddy says I can't do the ones from the University books because the last thing we need is for me to blow the neighborhood up." His nose wrinkled up a bit indignantly. "I can assure you, Miss Yuwen, I am excruciatingly careful. I only blew up one of my experiments and I was only five at the time, I am far more careful now, I promise. And in any case, my real interest lies in invertebrates. Entomology, to be precise. Chemistry is more of a hobby."

"I see," she replied. She was not quite sure what else to say.

"Oh, there's San!" he cried, and with another quick bow ran across the room to his cousin.

The Prince cleared his throat. "Ah. Yes. That is Yaozhi. He is..." He raised his hands in an expressive shrug. "Yes. Well. As you see."

"Not quite suited for a traditional school environment?" she replied, meeting his eyes. He twinkled at her.

"Exactly so," he said. He saw another one of the parents approaching and gave her a little bow. "In any case, I shouldn't monopolize you. Thank you again for a splendid evening." He left her then, neatly avoiding Madame Ume by hiding behind Naoki's grandmother, a woman that Madame was not at all fond of.

It was late by the time she retired that evening; she was grateful that there were no classes the next day. She was proud of her students, however. They had done so well for themselves. "Chemistry as a hobby," she murmured to herself as she pulled back the blanket on her bed, and with a chuckle she lowered herself down to sleep.


	33. An Alfresco Escapade: The Family Goes Camping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hou-Tings and Beifongs go on a camping trip.

"CAMPING!" bellowed Naoki as she hung out of the window, grinning and waving at her cousins as the car bumped slowly down the rutted dirt track.

"Naoki Hou-Ting! We do not thrust our heads out of windows like common riff-raff," Papa hissed, glowering over at her. Meili sat next to him in the backseat, perfect as always.

"Relax, Wu, there's no one here but us." Qi sent Papa a look in the rear-view mirror. "Let her have her fun." Qi winked at her. "Go on then." 

She was out of the car in a flash, squirming out of the window, meeting San in the middle of the camping site. Uncle Bo and Auntie Opal had come with Juicy; they'd already arrived in the morning. Must be nice to have your own air bison to fly around with, much better than sitting in the hot car with your family. Not for the first time she wished she could have an air bison, too. Qi had parked under a big tree and Uncle Bo was walking over, saying hi to everyone as they all got out of the car. Lin and LoLo hadn't come - she overheard LoLo telling Daddy that he was going to take Lin away to some nice resort for the next few days - but the rest of them were here. Daddy had tried to convince Papa that he didn't want to come, but Papa was like Meili; if you told him no he just got mad and dug in and did it anyhow. _Wu, there's no running water and we'll be in tents_ , he'd said, and Papa had stuck his finger straight out at Daddy and said, with his angry look, _Are you saying that I'm not capable of sleeping in a tent?_ Daddy had just thrown his hands up in the air and said, _I'm saying it's a bad idea_ , and Papa had been so angry he'd stomped up the stairs and slammed his bedroom door and Qi had sighed, really loudly, and said, _Nicely handled, Mako_. Daddy didn't say anything to that, just got that look like he'd eaten a sour lemon.

But they were all here now. Zhi had packed so many specimen jars that Qi had had to take him aside and tell him there was no room for the tents; he'd looked so sad that when they came out early this morning they saw that Qi had tied all of the tents and things to the top of the car so there would be more room for jars in the trunk. Zhi had jumped up and down and squeezed the life out of Qi, he was so happy. They'd all gotten new boots and trousers - camping clothes - too. She loved her camping clothes, she felt like a great adventurer, like she was Korra or maybe even Yaozhi (the earthbending one, not her little brother), making her way around the world, saving villages and righting all the wrongs. On Auntie Opal's advice Papa had braided her hair into one long braid and then tied it up into a tight loop in the back of her head, using a plain silver clip instead of the usual ribbons, so it wouldn't get caught in trees or pick up leaves or anything. She had her pocketknife, too, the one Qi had given her for her birthday, hanging off her belt in its leather sheath. She looked super tough, she just knew it.

Auntie Opal and Uncle Bo had already set up their tents - one for them and an extra big one for all six of the cousins - and had made a good place for a fire. Auntie Opal had told her that when she was her age in Zaofu she'd belonged to a group of scouts with her oldest brother, the one that nobody liked to talk about. Auntie Opal knew everything about camping and had promised to teach her and San. Zhi was already begging to go out exploring; Daddy said he could, but only if he was within earshot and if he took San with him. Usually they let Zhi go places with San, even though San wasn't even a year older than him. But San was smart and he was almost always calm and thought things through. Plus he was a really good bender. He never bragged about it or anything, but he could bend earth and metal and even lava, just a tiny little bit. And he was only eight! LoLo said that when it came to San that still waters ran deep, and when she asked him what that meant he said it meant that San was quiet on the surface but there was a lot going on underneath. She thought that was probably pretty true.

Daddy and Qi put their tent together, and she helped. Daddy looked so happy, he was smiling and smiling, and when Uncle Bo came over to help with the tent the two of them were joking and laughing. They only put up one tent, though, so she asked  _Where's Qi's tent?_ and Daddy and Qi looked at each other before Qi motioned her over and said  _Let's you and me go for a little walk, Butterfly._  Qi put Qi's arm around her and they walked a little way to where Auntie Opal said there was a lake. Qi sat down on a fallen tree on the lakeshore and patted the space next to Qi and she sat down.

"So you know that your Papa and I are getting married."

She just gave Qi a look at that one. _Duh._  Everybody knew it, it wasn't a secret or anything. Qi laughed a little.

"Yeah, course you know that. Sorry, I'm just trying to think of how to say this to you." 

"Are you trying to tell me that you and Papa are having sex?"

Qi's head turned very slowly and one eyebrow went up while Qi's chin tipped down. That was Qi's _What did you just say to me?_ look. Thankfully it wasn't Qi's mad look. Qi didn't get mad very often at all - not like Daddy or Papa, who both got mad all the time, even if it was in totally different ways - but Qi was scary mad because Qi went completely quiet when Qi was angry. When she was ten she saw Qi get mad at some man who was shouting at Papa about being a terrible king and selling out the monarchy and he reached his hand out to Papa and Qi went completely quiet and suddenly there were knives from nowhere crisscrossing that man's throat and she hadn't even seen Qi move. Qi never shouted, just left those knives there while staring at the man and the man had peed himself, like he was a little baby, all down the front of his trousers. Papa had grabbed her and put her behind him and had put his hand on Qi's arm, begging Qi to let the man go. Qi didn't say anything, just put the knives away, drove them home, still silent, and when they got home Qi had driven away and didn't come home for hours. It had scared her, real bad. Before that day she hadn't known Qi could look like that, like Qi would really hurt someone. Maybe even kill them. When Qi finally came home Qi didn't even say anything to Daddy or Papa, just came right upstairs to her bedroom and crawled right into bed with her and held her tight and close while she cried and cried. _I'm sorry I scared you, baby,_ Qi finally said. _So sorry. But I ain't never gonna let nobody hurt your Papa or you, neither._ She believed Qi, too.

"I'm not a baby, you know. I know what sex is." Well. She sort of did. Like, she knew that's where babies came from and how it worked and about penises and periods and all that junk because both Papa and Lin had talked to her about it. (Talking about it was weird because it made her think about Sozui and Rohan having penises and that was just weird, okay?) She didn't really know all the details, though. A few months ago one of the older girls at school had brought a book from home with all these drawings in them of people having sex and she had looked at it a little. It didn't look like a very good time to her but she guessed grownups must like it because there were enough babies around, that's for sure.

"Uh huh," Qi said, and looked like Qi wanted to laugh. "Well, anyhow. The answer to your question is yes."

She thought about this for awhile. "Are you going to have a baby?"

Qi shook Qi's head. "No. We've got the three of you, that's enough. I'm taking care so that doesn't happen."

"Oh." She was a little disappointed by that. 

"And also, just so I'm truthful with you, sometimes I have sex with your Daddy as well."

She frowned. "Are you going to marry Daddy?"

Qi smiled. "No. Just your Papa. There's...well, there are a lot of reasons for that, but let's just say it's what we all agreed on, okay?"

"Yeah, okay." 

"And people don't have to be married to have sex, you do know that, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah, Papa said."

"I don't know that I am going to get into it with your brother or sister quite yet, but you're old enough to know and to ask questions if you want to. Okay?"

"Yeah, okay." They sat there for a little while. "I don't think I have any questions now but if I do later can I ask?"

Qi was solemn. "Yes. Absolutely. Whatever you want to ask." She was going to say something in return when they heard a shriek in the distance.

"Was that Auntie Opal?"

"No, that was your father." Qi stood up very fast. "Raava help us all if the man met a spider snake." Qi took off at a jog and she followed along after.

It was, as it turned out, a spider snake, so good call, Qi. Zhi had found one and he and San brought it back to show everyone. Papa had taken one look at it and screamed and crawled up Juicy so fast that Juicy was just sitting there, looking kind of surprised to have Papa suddenly on his back, when she and Qi got back. Daddy was standing there, hands on his hips looking up at him, _Wu, they aren't venomous, it's more afraid of you than you are of it_ and Papa had shouted, _Or so it would like you to think!_ and then Qi said Qi was going to take the spider snake away and Pearl cried because she wanted to play with it. Papa wouldn't come down for ages, just sat on Juicy with his arms crossed, refusing to speak to anyone. 

Auntie Opal called San and Zhi over to learn how to make a fire and she came too. Well, duh, she could make a fire on her own but Lin had told her about the time when her bending had been taken away from her (even though Korra got it back, obviously) and she'd been doing a lot of thinking about that. What if her bending got taken away? So she was trying to learn how to do things without her bending. She explained this to Daddy when he came over to watch and he gave her a big smile and said _That's smart thinking, I'm proud of you_ and it made her feel so good she felt like she was going to explode or something and Auntie Opal gave her wink and told her it was her turn to use the sticks to make a flame. And she did it too, even though it took a long time. She didn't even cheat! _Great job, Naoki,_ Auntie Opal said when she'd started the fire and she couldn't stop smiling. 

For dinner they cooked on their campfire. Daddy and Uncle Bo did the cooking, they were joking again, remembering good stories from when they were kids and stuff. Qi got Papa to come down from Juicy and they all sat down at the rock table with the rock chairs that Uncle Bo and San bent for them. Dinner was really funny; all the grown ups were relaxed and smiling, and Uncle Bo had built a little highchair for Pearl, who was throwing things with her hands and her bending but nobody even got mad or anything. Even Pabu came out from his bed in Uncle Bo's tent, he curled up in Daddy's lap and Daddy stroked him and fed him little bits of food. Pabu was so old now, he spent most of his time sleeping. Daddy said he would go fishing the next day for their dinner, and Uncle Bo got all excited about that and said he was coming too and Daddy said _We're going to use poles, Bo, not just jump in there trying to grab fish with our teeth_ and Auntie Opal laughed so hard she turned pink and Uncle Bo laughed too and then Daddy and Uncle Bo told a funny story about wading into the pond at the Park when they were little, trying to catch fish to eat and how they didn't have poles so Uncle Bo did it with his teeth and actually caught one and now everyone was laughing, even Pearl, who didn't understand, she was just laughing because everyone else did. And she knew those weren't really fun times for Daddy and Uncle Bo - she knew it was really sad and hard and scary for them - but it was still a good story.

After dinner Meili said she had to pee so Auntie Opal took her and Naoki as well and said, _Excuse us, the ladies are going out for a few minutes_ and Uncle Bo said _Don't get any bugs in your shorts_ and Auntie Opal gave him a dirty look and said _BOLIN!_ but everyone else was laughing. Except for Meili. She gave Uncle Bo a really dirty look and Meili was the Queen of Dirty Looks, too. Just like Papa. Auntie Opal took them in the woods and showed them how they could pee and use leaves (but not the ones that red spots on them, Auntie Opal said those were poisonous and would make them so itchy they'd want to die) and she, herself, thought this was the best thing ever but Meili didn't at all. Her lower lip was poking out the way it always did when she was about to throw a fit and so she took her hand and tried to cheer her up but Meili wasn't having it. Auntie Opal picked her up and carried her and said nice things to her, but too late, Meili started to bawl, saying she didn't like camping and she wanted to go home. When they got back she ran straight for Papa, boo-hoo-hoo, and Papa tried to put on a good face and say how fun camping was but she wasn't sure who he was fooling. Papa still looked all dressed up. Daddy and Qi had on old trousers and boots and shirts and Qi had Qi's old leather jacket and Daddy had a sweater that Auntie Opal had knitted for him ages ago, it was in his old Fire Ferret pro-bending colors. They looked right at home in the woods. Papa had on boots and trousers and a shirt and a leather jacket, just like Qi, but he still looked fancy and like he was in a magazine instead of camping. Meili hated her camping clothes and had only put them on that morning after Daddy had gotten all stern with her.

They sat around the campfire and sang songs and Uncle Bo tried to tell a scary story but Uncle Bo was terrible at scary stories, they always turned out funny instead. After awhile it was time to go to bed, so everyone put on their camping pajamas and brushed their teeth with canteen water and peed again in the woods (she was more than a little jealous that Zhi and San and Bu could just stand up and go) and then it was time to go into the big tent. They had sleeping bags and Auntie Opal put Pearl between her and San but said that if Pearl needed to that they could take her into her and Uncle Bo's tent during the night.  She snuggled deep inside and watched how the campfire lit up the canvas of their tent, listening to the grownups' soft talking. She heard the clink of glass and laughter and the buzzy noise of some bug and she asked Zhi what it was but he had already fallen asleep. Bu, too, he was snoring like he always did, and Pearl too. She listened closely and realized that San and Meili had gone to sleep, too, it was just her awake. Some day, when she was a grownup, she'd be the one sitting out at the fire, late into the night, remembering her good times when she was little, too. She wondered who would be there. Zhi, sure, and San and Bu and maybe Pearl. And Meili too, even if she grew up to be a lady who didn't like camping, which was probably what was going to happen. Would Rohan be there? Would Sozui? Sozui was a real prince, not just a for show princess like she was. Until his sister had a baby then he was her heir, she knew that. He knew it too, sometimes he talked about it, wrote her about it, too. She thought he was lonely, most of the time. People in the palace there weren't like at home; she liked his Grandma a whole lot and his sister and uncle and everyone else in his family but people there were so formal. Not mean, not really, but not really friendly, either. Sozui always talked about how nice it was at her house, or when they'd go to visit Rohan over at the Island. Pema was always happy to see them and Tenzin was kind and had great stories and never minded talking to kids, ever. And Jinora was the nicest, too. Rohan was going to be sixteen really soon and he was practically a grownup anyhow. He was still her friend but lately they didn't really have anything to talk about except for bending and it made her sad, but when she talked to LoLo about it he just smiled at her and told her that in a few years she'd catch back up with him and then they'd be different kind of friends. She thought he meant that Rohan would be her boyfriend, which, no offense to Rohan, but no way, but LoLo said that wasn't what he meant. He meant that they'd both be adults then and would have more in common like they used to. That made sense. She hoped so, because she missed him.

The next morning they all woke up, except for Daddy and Bu. Both of them were still snoozing away, and Papa said there was no need to wake them since it was a holiday and Auntie Opal agreed. Papa's hair was sticking up everywhere and he was kind of grouchy about it but Qi leaned over and tousled it and made it worse and when Papa opened his mouth to shout about it Qi just leaned in real close and kissed him and she realized it was the first time she had ever seen Qi kiss Papa on his mouth, like Daddy did. She liked it, especially when Papa made a terrible face and Qi only laughed and gave him some tea and then Papa shocked her by laughing as well and then he just left his hair alone. She had never, in her entire whole life, seen her Papa not fix his hair even if it had one little tiny hair out of place. Maybe having Qi kiss Papa on the mouth was a good thing. After they ate breakfast Daddy and Bu finally came out of the tents and then Auntie Opal said it was time to go swimming, and so all the cousins trooped down to the lake and Juicy came too and dove right into the water and then floated around on his back and didn't even mind that they were using him so they could run across his belly and jump right back into the water. Meili bent some waves around him and Juicy really loved that, he started paddling around and making happy noises. Meili was always happier when she could be in the water, anyhow. Auntie Opal and Qi were swimming out there with them and Papa was playing around with Pearl near the shore, but Daddy and Uncle Bo had gone to the other side of the lake to fish in peace, Daddy said that they were scaring all the fish away with all their noise. 

They swam all morning and after lunch Daddy and Uncle Bo still weren't back so Pearl had a nap and Auntie Opal took Zhi and San out on a big hike to look for specimens. Qi had showed Meili and Bu how to make little animals out of pine cones and sticks and they were playing zoo with them. She was going to go with Zhi but then she decided not to. She didn't know why, she just felt like hanging out with Papa and Qi. They were talking about the wedding and Qi was leaning against Papa while Papa played with Qi's hair and they were just being lazy and then Papa said _Well, if we're going to talk about flower girl dresses then I suppose we should be asking Naoki what she thinks_ and then Qi looked at her and smiled and said _What do you think, Butterfly?_ and she said that she thought maybe that they should have dragons and phoenixes on their dresses somewhere since those were Daddy and Qi's astrology and Qi sat up and Papa smiled this huge big smile and said _Why Naoki, that is a brilliant idea! Tell me more_ , and Qi liked it too, she could tell, and it made her feel so good, like she was older and smart, like she had opinions that mattered. She liked feeling like that. So she told them a little more and then they talked about it and included her as well and it was the best, the absolute best.

Daddy and Uncle Bo finally came back and Uncle Bo, he was always smiling so no big deal, but Daddy was smiling and smiling as well. He even had his arm around Uncle Bo's shoulder. Papa had seen them coming, and he shaded his eyes and said, so quietly that only she and Qi could hear, _I don't know when's the last time I've seen him this happy_ and Qi said, _We need to do this more often_ and at first she didn't understand, because they went on vacations all the time, to Zaofu sometimes and sometimes to their other house on Ember Island, but then she realized that this was the first time they had ever gone on vacation where they weren't in a hotel or a house with servants or anything. She wasn't sure what to think about that. Didn't Daddy like having people take care of everything for him? Daddy worked really hard at his job, she knew that, just like she knew his job was hard work. So wouldn't it be a good idea for Daddy to come home and not have to worry about cooking or cleaning or anything else? While they were camping he had to do all of those things; in fact, he and Uncle Bo were taking out the fish they caught and cleaning them, joking with each other. It was hot, so Daddy had taken off his shirt and sweater and was just in his undershirt, all stubbly because he didn't bother to shave, saying something to Uncle Bo about going out to look for some herbs to use when cooking the fish. Since when did Daddy know how to do all of this? Sometimes Qi cooked with LoLo in the kitchen, but she never saw Daddy doing it. She walked over towards him.

"Daddy?"

He grinned down at her. "What's shaking, Butterfly?"

"Do you like fishing?"

"Yeah. I do."

"Do you like cooking? On a campfire?"

"Sure."

She stood there for a minute, thinking about this. "Can I help you with the fish? Can you teach me?"

Daddy nodded at her. "Sure. You got your knife?" She pulled it out of her sheath and showed it to him. "Okay. So here's what you want to do." He took her hands in his, gently guiding her into the movements, just like he'd always done when he was teaching her how to bend. Everyone else always demonstrated the bending and waited for her to try it on her own, but not Daddy; he always guided her through it the first time. "Daddy? How come you always hold my hands when you are showing me something?"

Daddy looked a little surprised and took his hands away. "Oh, sorry. I don't have to do that if you don't want me to."

"No! I want you to! I just wondered why, that's all."

Daddy put his hands back over hers and showed her where to cut. "I don't know. I guess it's because that's how my Mama - your Grandma - used to show me how to do things when I was a little boy."

"Really?"

Daddy's smile was just a little sad, like it usually was when he talked about Grandma. "Yeah, it's how she always did it."

"So it's like Grandma is showing me too, through your hands."

Daddy looked down at her, and his eyes got all shiny, and she realized that those were tears! Daddy never cried! Never!

"It sure is like that, Butterfly," Uncle Bo said, and he kissed her on the top of her head, careful not to touch her with his fish goopy hands. "Just like he used to do with me when I was little."

They built another fire and Meili and Bu had the job of finding everyone roasting sticks, and everybody except for Pearl roasted their own fish over the fire. Zhi dropped his in the fire but Daddy rescued it right away and just brushed off the ash and told him it was as good as new and Zhi didn't care, he ate it anyway. Papa was so funny, he was concentrating on making sure his fish was roasted just perfectly on every single side. Her fish was a little raw on one side and too cooked on the other but she cheated a little bit with her own flame and then it was okay. Daddy had made a big pot of rice that had cooked hanging over the fire and she ate so much that she thought she was going to bust wide open. Auntie Opal said it was camping appetites, and even Meili ate a whole fish on her own. After dinner everyone - even Papa! - helped clean up and then Papa and Auntie Opal got out a Pai Sho board and sat at the rock table and started to play. She knew that Papa liked to play with Auntie Opal, he said that outside of Auntie Nuo and Asami she was the only one who was a decent opponent. Uncle Bo kept hanging over her shoulder and giving Auntie Opal terrible advice and Auntie Opal kept flapping at him with her hand and telling him to go away, but she was laughing, too.

That night she couldn't get to sleep even though all the other kids were, so finally she crawled out of the tent. She thought they might tell her to go back to bed, but Daddy just reached out an arm and she ran across in her bare feet to sit next to him on one of the logs that they'd placed around the campfire. Daddy snuggled her close and kissed her head and Papa smiled at her. Papa was just a little bit stubbly and he had finally given up on his hair and had just let it go, all curly around his head. It didn't look like Papa at all; Papa always looked so perfect and tidy and nice. Now his trousers had a little dirt on them and he didn't look so much like Prince Wu but like someone else, someone who had a tin cup in his hand instead of one of his fancy crystal goblets. The shocked look on his face this morning when Qi told him he had to poop in the woods just like the bears did was so funny that she had gone back into her tent and stuffed her face in her pillow and laughed until her belly ached. Poor Papa. He was being a really good sport but she didn't think he liked camping, not like the rest of the grownups did.

The grownups were talking about throwing some sort of party for Granny Su and Grampy because they had been married for thirty five years but she wasn't really paying all that much attention. She was listening to the flames singing to her, her own bending humming in return. Daddy was warm and big and she leaned up against him and he held her and she felt safe and good and the next thing she really knew she was waking up the next morning in her own sleeping bag, Pearl sitting on her, trying to stick her fingers into her mouth, laughing her baby head off. She had no idea what was so funny but she laughed anyway, which made Pearl laugh even harder. But then she smelled her, so she wriggled out of her sleeping bag and carried her out to Uncle Bo, who took her down to the lake to give her a bath and change her diaper.

That day was the best day. After breakfast Auntie Opal asked her if she wanted to go for a hike - just the two of them - and Daddy packed them a lunch and off they went. Auntie Opal told her all about the plants around them, like which ones you could eat and which ones were poison and which ones could help if you had a skin infection, stuff like that. Auntie Opal knew so much about them. She showed her the tracks of a jackalope and a quilled chameleon, too. Auntie Opal talked to her about stuff, like bosoms and boys and school, that kind of thing. Naoki told her that she was kind of confused about Sozui - sometimes he felt like Zhi or San but then other times he made her feel kind of hot and squirmy and unsure but Auntie Opal didn't laugh or anything, she just told her that it was pretty natural when you got older to think that other people were cute and to have crushes on them. That was a big relief! She asked Auntie Opal if she ever had a crush on someone and Auntie Opal told her a story about a boy she liked before she met Uncle Bo and how he was always coming around and she was convinced that he liked her too and she was dreaming about him being her boyfriend but it turned out that the boy thought her oldest brother was the cute one and poor Auntie Opal had cried and cried and cried. And then Auntie Opal told her if she ever needed someone to talk to about girl stuff that her door was always open and that she would always be available for her any time she needed her. She had always loved her Auntie Opal - Auntie Opal was the best! - but after that day she felt like she really connected with Auntie Opal in a way that was different than it had been before. Because she loved her Papa and her Daddy and even her Qi, but they weren't girls and of course she loved Lin a whole lot but Lin wasn't always very encouraging when it came to having feelings. They had lunch and did some more hiking and talking and then Auntie Opal used her whistle to call Juicy and they got a ride back to the campsite, which was a good thing because her legs were starting to get tired.

That night she heard the hooting of hog monkeys, off in the distance. Auntie Opal stuck her head into the tent and told them all not to worry, that they were a ways off and that they would never come close enough to do any harm because they had Juicy with them. It was true, too, because they were gone the next morning and their tracks weren't very close, Auntie Opal used her bending to do a flyover and double check. They saw lots of other forest animals though, although Qi told them to leave the animals alone, that they could look but not touch since wild animals weren't pets.

They stayed there for five days. Everybody got kind of grubby even though they could take a bath in the lake and Papa did a lot of reading inside his tent where he could keep out the bugs and Qi started to teach her how to throw knives, using an old log for a target. Zhi had all kinds of new specimens and while she didn't think Meili was having the time of her life or anything she at least stopped whining every thirty seconds about everything. When it was time to go home they all got up very early and helped pack up the tents and she was in charge of making sure that the campfire was one hundred percent completely out and that the whole area around it was left good and tidy so that the next campers who came by would not have to clean up their mess. Uncle Bo left the rock table and chairs, too, just in case someone else might like to use them. Meili and Bu were on trash duty and they made sure there was not one single bit of trash left because it wasn't respectful of nature to leave any trash in it. The campsite looked nice when they left.

She was sorry to go.

Juicy took off and Qi drove down the long sand road until they got to the bigger road that led back to Republic City. Meili was in the back with Papa like on the way there but this time she and Zhi switched, and she sat in the front seat with Qi and Daddy. She dozed off for awhile - it was hot in the car - but she woke up when there was a summer rainstorm just as they were coming to the city limits. Qi joked that it would save them the trouble of cleaning the tent. It was a good thing that it was raining so hard because Papa kept slinking down in his seat so no one would see his hair, trying to pat it down but the rain made it even worse. They pulled into their garage - Papa was practically on the floor - and Lin came to the garage and sniffed really loudly and told them they smelled like a pack of goat gorillas and then she told Papa his hair looked like something had nested in it and pretended to search it looking for eggs which was making her and Zhi and Meili giggle and Daddy was doing that thing where he sort of looked off into the distance which was what he did when he didn't want to laugh but Lin was only being funny, of course. She told them LoLo had a late lunch ready and she started to help Qi get the tents down from the top of the car and gave Zhi her solemn promise that she would be careful with his specimens while Papa escorted them inside. LoLo hugged them all even though they were stinky and didn't mind that they ate before showers and that they all talked a mile a minute telling him about their trip and while it was good to get into her own hot shower and scrub everywhere and put on clean clothes she was sorry they had to come back. 

 When she grew up she would go camping every single year. She'd make sure of it.


	34. An Unscheduled Crackdown: Lunch With The Hou-Tings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes lunch gets interrupted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is for my Betareader.

“I just don’t think you need to address them all by hand, that’s all.” Qi took another bite of their braised picken. “That’s what you have a secretary for.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Wu said, a sliver of carrot in his chopsticks. He’d eaten hardly anything and she’d noted that Qi had been watching him like a raven eagle the entire meal. “Of course people will expect me to address them.” He glanced at Chun. “Don’t you agree?”

“I agree with Qi, as it happens,” she said, smiling. “Dearest, no one could possibly expect you to address all of the invitations by hand. You’ve not the time for all of that.”

“Hmph,” he said, and she couldn’t help a small laugh. He looked so like his mother when he was disgruntled. Meili had been a rather spoilt only child of doting parents; she had always expected her own way and had never liked to give in. Her son was the same. Lucky for the both of them that they possessed such a great deal of charm to go along with it. “I’m certain the Grand Secretariat agrees with me.”

“Oh yes, quite,” he replied, patting at his mouth fastidiously. “My gracious, Your Highness. Certainly a secretary will do.”

Naoki sighed loudly. “I’ll be glad when this wedding is over so we don’t have to talk about it every time we sit down to eat.”

The Grand Secretariat astonished her by neatly cutting off Wu’s admonishment. “It might be more amusing when it is your own wedding someday, Princess.” His smile could only be described as fond.

“Probably not,” she said, with another great sigh. She looked like she wanted to say more but Wu’s glare at her was quite formidable.

Chun looked about the table. Meili was drooping over her plate; well-behaved, as she always was, but clearly bored out of her mind. Zhi was trying very hard, she could see, to refrain from fidgeting, but was only partially succeeding. Lady Beifong and the always enchanting LoLo were having lunch elsewhere. Mako, since it was his day off, was eating with them, but had remained mostly silent during the meal. He rarely spoke during meals, she’d observed. It wasn’t that he was impolite; rather, she believed, that pleasant and inconsequential small talk was not something he excelled at and he chose to remain silent instead. She could hardly blame him for that. He glanced her way before deliberately putting down his chopsticks.

“THIS IS A RAID,” he bellowed, slamming his hands down on the table and surging out of his chair. The Grand Secretariat dropped his chopsticks and squeaked before gasping and putting his hand to his heart.

The children immediately reacted; Naoki gleefully leapt up from the table, running straight out of the dining room, Meili not far behind her, giggling as she moved quite as fast as her little legs could carry her. Zhi was still clutching at his chopsticks, frozen in a sort of delighted horror, half on and half off of his chair.

“Mako!” hissed Wu, his face taking on color. “Please! We have guests!” Mako ignored him to make a wailing noise, something that sounded remarkably like the siren of a police car.

“No, Daddy! No!” Zhi hovered, legs churning in place, before Mako shouted again.

“A RAID!” He reached his hands towards Zhi and that set him off, the boy stumbling over his own feet as he dashed out of the room.

“Oh, Daddy! Help! It’s a raid! Run! Run!”

“Really? Now?” Wu’s mouth was drawn into a thin red line. Mako merely winked at him, however.

“Go ahead and finish your secretary debate, then,” he replied, and then the siren noise was back. “COME BACK HERE, TRIAD CRIMINALS!” he roared, and slowly jogged after the children. “IT’S A RAID! I’M TAKING YOU IN!”

She couldn’t help it; she started to chuckle. Qi met her eyes across the table and grinned.

“My goodness,” the Grand Secretariat murmured, producing his fan and setting it to work, hand still pressed to his chest. “Well, then.”

“My apologies,” Wu gritted out, looking pained. “It’s a game Mako plays with the children. It can get quite vociferous.” A shriek was heard from down the hall; a clatter and a shout from Mako and then the sound of giggling and pounding feet. “As can be ascertained.”

“I think it looks like marvelous fun,” she said, with a nod to the servant who came to refill her glass. “Far more entertaining than having to listen to wedding planning. In fact, it reminds me of a game my father used to play with us when we were all small.” She reached out to pat him. “Now don’t fret, Wu. It’s only us and the children clearly quite enjoy it.”

“Not to mention Mako enjoys it,” replied Qi, taking up their chopsticks again, mouth barely twitching with amusement.

“Yours is a happy home, Your Highness,” the Grand Secretariat said. “The royal children are very well-behaved and they do you and the House of Hou-Ting credit.” His fan slowed. “However, a child that is too well-behaved is rarely a happy child, I have found.” He leaned forward just slightly, his voice quiet. “I do not believe you would wish your children too well-behaved, would you?”

“No,” Wu said, and his eyes filled. “I would not.”

“Just so,” the Grand Secretariat said, and he sat back up in his seat, stowing away his fan in one of his many pockets. “Now then. Have we decided that the secretary will be doing the invitations?” He winced just slightly as another roar was heard in the distance, followed by the shouts of the children.

“I am very sure I did not agree to that,” Wu said, leaning forward to tap one of his long fingers on the table, mouth pursed in an irritable scowl. “I believe it is still up for debate.”

“Since when have you ever debated anything?” Qi asked. “More like told and moved on.” She laughed again at the achingly familiar expression on Wu’s face and took up her chopsticks to finish her excellent and very entertaining meal.


	35. A Kaolinite Curriculum: Taking A Pottery Class

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A pottery class held at Republic City's Learning Annex.
> 
> From my Different POV Prompt Challenge on Tumblr.

Genjiro took in a rooted, calming breath as his students came into the room and settled themselves at their wheels. He'd purchased a new blend of incense at the Sacred Chakra; the shop's proprietor had assured him that the generous addition of patchouli would bring extra prosperity to his class. He needed all the help he could get. He had four seats free and new blessing crystals didn't come cheap, after all.

"Excuse me, is this the Harmonic Convergence Ceramics class?" Genjiro opened his eyes to spy three people standing in front of him. The man whom he presumed to be the speaker was standing in front, slight and smiling and practically screaming money. Genjiro folded his hands together and bowed his head.

"Namaste, honored sirs, as they say in the southern parts of our abundant and breathtaking world. Welcome to my humble class. May the blessings of the gracious and omniscient spirits be upon you."

The tallest man sniffed several times and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "I can't fucking believe this." Genjiro chose to ignore it and slowly unfolded himself out of the lotus position.

"I am honored by your presence. Please, come in. As you see, we have four empty wheels. Are all three of you participating this truly auspicious evening?" 

"We are, yes." The rich man reached back to jab the tallest man in the ribs with a long finger. The third man stood behind them, silent, eyes scanning each and every inch of the room. He unsettled Genjiro, who took several ujjayi breaths to ground himself. The rich man smiled at him.  "May we sit at any of them?"

"Yes. Take your time, find the one that calls out to your spirit."

"I'll take the one closest to the door," said the quiet man, with an equally quiet voice.

"Wu! Take a coverall and come and sit next to me," called Madame Xinyi, at her usual wheel. Madame Xinyi was one of his most devoted students. It was a pity that her pots all looked liked they would topple over at any given second, but genius would blossom when it was its time to bloom, as he had told her on many occasions. 

"A coverall?" The rich man - Wu, apparently - looked about himself, eyes wide. The quiet man took one off a hook near the door and handed it to him. "I...are these communal coveralls?" He blinked down at the one he was holding, a dull beige, worn and stained over the years with clay. "Oh. Oh dear."

"This was your idea. Put the damn thing on," the tall man said, grimacing. He yanked a coverall off the wall and thrust his feet into it before shoving his arms in. The coverall was too short, exposing at least several inches of his spats, the cuffs of his jacket and a glove covering his left hand. "Don't you have any larger ones?" 

"I am terribly sorry, but these are the ones provided by the school." Genjiro gestured around the room. "As you can see, my regular students have their own." He glanced at the glove. "You'll want to take that off."

The man made an exasperated noise, tugging the glove off, revealing a hand quite disfigured with scarring. He removed the top part of the coverall and took off his jacket before quickly rolling up his shirtsleeves, buttoning up the insufficient coverall with a long-suffering sigh.

"You could take the entire shirt off if you are worried, Mako," called Madame Xinyi with a smirk. The man sent her a vicious look.

"I also strongly suggest that you remove your shoes and socks," Genjiro said. "I find that inspiration is an entire body experience, and our bare flesh is a conduit to the muse." He gestured to his own bare feet and drew in another breath, letting it out with a faint humming sound.

"I gave up going to the game for this," said the tall man - Mako - glaring at the rich man before removing his shoes and socks and stalking over to one of the free wheels. Genjiro considered himself a consummate professional, but the sight of the man's shapely rear in the coveralls was rather distracting. He closed his eyes and regained his focus, fingering the mindfulness charm on the chain around his neck. Pure of mind, pure of heart, pure of body.

The quiet man took off his shoes and socks without comment and put on the coverall, which fit as well as any of them did. After a bit of dithering the rich man did as well, although he looked to be very unhappy to be removing his shoes and socks. He took small, mincing steps to his wheel, gazing down at his rather delicate feet in dismay. The quiet man gave him an encouraging pat on the back before sitting down himself.

"Namaste!" Genjiro proclaimed, and his regular students returned his blessing enthusiastically. The tall man glowered even more; the rich man looked faintly amused and the quiet man just sat there, expressionless yet still exuding menace. He really had quite a vigilant aura; he made Genjiro a little nervous. "May the five elements grace us with their presence this evening, especially that of the earth, whose bountiful riches we are shaping together." He opened his arms in benediction before ringing the small gong he had next to his cushions in the front of the room. "Let us begin!"

The quiet man took to the wheel with surprising ease; he immediately grasped the rhythm of spinning it with his feet and his hands were very dexterous, shaping the clay like a natural. Genjiro suggested he slow the speed a little to get a better feel for the clay and he took his advice to good result. A half hour in and he was already working on a bowl. It was a bit uneven and wobbly of course, but even at that, it was still better than what half of his regular students could manage after several years of practice.

The tall man's wheel was going far too fast; he was attacking the sopping wet clay as if it were personally insulting him. "Feel the clay as an extension of your own hands. It is your faithful friend, not your enemy, yes?" The man grunted, but it was too late. The clay started to shimmy and fall apart, making an alarming _whap whap whap_ noise before sailing off the wheel entirely and hitting the wall with a discordant gurgle and a slow slide to the floor. "Motherfucker!" the man exclaimed, and then, noticing the mostly scandalized looks given to him by the rest of the students, cleared his throat. "Sorry," he said, and stood to pry the sludge up to try again.

The rich man gasped as he put his hands into his slab of clay. "Oh my gracious! Oh! It's...oh goodness. I...well." He removed his hands and his eyes grew so large Genjiro had a brief moment of fear that they might pop right out his sockets. "It's under my fingernails," he said, completely amazed. "Qi! It's under my fingernails!"

"It'll do that, yeah," said the quiet man, concentrating on his own clay. "You can just wash them later, keep your pants on."

"My goodness," the man repeated. You'd think he'd never touched earth before, the way he was carrying on. "It's a terrible mess, isn't it?" Suddenly his smile burst forth, the sun peeking out from beyond dark clouds, illuminating the room. "It's so squishy!" He spent most of the rest of the class poking and prodding at his clay, letting forth with delighted chuckles and impulsive exclamations at the wonder of its malleability. Genjiro tried several times to show him how to get the wheel started but he seemed wholly uninterested; finally the quiet man nodded at him and told him that it was fine, they could work on the wheel the next time.

By the end of the class the quiet man had produced a basic rimmed bowl which Genjiro privately deemed actually worth firing; the man was difficult to read but seemed content enough with it. The rich man had produced nothing, but didn't seem to be upset about it. This was a good thing; he had figured out early on that he was the one who wanted to take the class. Genjiro would hate to lose him. The tall man had a rather ungainly, lumpy pot that listed to one side; he looked at it with some pride until he spied the quiet man's bowl. "Damn show off," he muttered, and the quiet man grinned back at him. They washed their hands in the sink and Madame Xinyi offered them some of her hand cream, and all three of them used it before peeling off the coveralls and hanging them back up. The rich man seemed to be slightly distressed that he would dirty his shoes and socks but the quiet man once again reassured him that it would be fine.

"Well, I will call and have them make us coveralls to measure for next week, I can't be expected to wear ill-fitted communal ones, my gracious," he replied, and the tall man scowled.

"I told you I'd come to one class, Wu. I came to one."

The quiet man shrugged with one shoulder and glanced over to the counter near the kiln where their work was sitting side by side, letting his gaze linger. "Let him be, Wu. It's clearly not his thing."

The tall man's mouth thinned out and his jaw thrust out a bit. "Hmph," he said, arms creeping up to cross over his chest. "Yours isn't that much better than mine."

The rich man looked over for the first time at their work. "Oh, Qi, is that your bowl? It's quite lovely, isn't it! You're very good at this, my word! You'll paint it, won't you? Or is it glaze? I can never keep them straight."

"Glaze. Thought I'd glaze it to match my bathroom, figured I could use it to hold soap or something." The quiet man shrugged again but surprised Genjiro by looking just a little pleased at the compliment.

"Oh, surely we can find somewhere else for it? Somewhere we could all enjoy it? Unless you want to keep it, of course."

"That's mine next to it," said the tall man interrupted, pointing with his chin.

"Oh. Well. I am sure it was a very good try for your first time," the rich man said, polite to a fault. The tall man's eyes narrowed and he huffed out a breath.

"Fine. We'll get the damn coveralls, then." He strode out, the rich man following along behind, assuring him that he was certain the man would improve, given a little more practice. The quiet man smiled a little to himself. 

"May as well mark us down for the class," he said, with a nod to Genjiro, and walked after them.

As he began to tidy the room Genjiro made a mental note to order more of the prosperity incense.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this fic is based on a class I once took at San Francisco's Learning Annex, why do you ask?


	36. A Heartfelt Gathering: Mako Gets Romantic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A special request from aggressivelycalm, who wanted Mako being romantic.
> 
> Romance, Mako-style!

It had hurt him, all the teasing he was getting over Wu's courtship of Qi; once the marriage contract had been signed, Wu had pulled out all the stops. Qi had been showered with jewelry and other gifts, taken out on the town, drowned in poetry, surrounded with flowers. Wu had even rented out the entirety of Harmony Tower, having them set up a single table for the two of them on the open viewing platform so they could have a dinner specially prepared by Kwong's, finishing the night off with a jazz combo that played only for them while they danced far above the city. Qi had come home from that one nearly floating, their smile lighting up their face in a way he'd never seen before.

It wasn't Qi that was giving him a hard time about it, at least. He'd said something to them about it and Qi had just snorted, told him that there was romance and there was romance, and dragged him into bed and hadn't let him out for hours. But everyone else had felt free to twit him about his lack of wooing, from Lin all the way to his own brother. Korra'd especially given him a ration of shit about it, joking over dinner one night that he would've probably rather fried himself with his own lightning than take Wu on a date before they'd gotten married. She would have gone on about it, too, but Wu shut her down, pissed as hell. Wu might gently tease him about things, but he'd never put up with anyone else giving him a hard time, even back in the days when he'd been working for him. Wu had always been a lot more protective than most people gave him credit for.

Not that it was true, anyhow. He'd taken Wu on dates! He'd bought him a few things, too, although never much. What do you buy one of the richest men in the world? What was the point of him spending money that was most likely coming from Wu's pocket anyhow? Wu knew how much he loved him, he'd never needed to prove it by spending money.

He still felt bad about it, though.

He'd made the arrangements at Kwong's for their annual anniversary dinner there. He'd gotten the private dining room, of course; he'd also taken Qi aside and asked them to bring along the kids as a surprise. Qi had tried to back out of it, saying that it was his anniversary, not theirs, but he'd insisted. He'd driven Wu there the long way, reminiscing with him, holding his hand and kissing his knuckles between shifting gears, enjoying Wu's chatter, remembering their wedding. They'd had a good laugh over Naoki trying to set the Firelord on fire; Wu had gotten a little misty-eyed remembering how Ikki had filled the temple full of wildflowers for them.

"It hasn't been too bad, has it?" He shot Wu a look as he pulled up in front of the restaurant, getting ready to hand the keys over to the valet.

"The best years of my life," Wu replied, smiling at him, his eyes filling up, one tear splashing down his cheek. "You know they have been." He quickly fished out a handkerchief.

"Mine too," he said, and kissed his knuckles once again before walking him into the restaurant. Right before they got to the door to the banquet room he motioned at the maître d' and turned to take Wu's hands in his. "I'm sorry I'm not very good at romance."

Wu scowled. "Is this about what Korra said? You never mind her. You know I'm happy. I've never asked anything more from you, and that includes so-called romance. It's you I fell in love with, not someone different."

"I know. I just want to say that I love you."

"I love you, too," Wu said, quietly, and the tender look on his face made his throat get all tight. 

"Okay," he said, and then nodded at the maître d' to open the doors. They hadn't taken a step in before the kids shouted in glee, all three of them dressed to the nines, rushing over to hug them. Wu's delight was real, he knew, as he hugged them and told them what a nice surprise it was and how happy he was to see them. Qi was there as well, raising an eyebrow at him. Qi wasn't anyone's fool; they knew something had to be up.

"Papa! Kwong's did something silly!" Zhi was wiggling around the way he did when he got excited about something. "They set the table for two extra places!"

"Ah. Well perhaps they are for Lin and LoLo, darling." Wu looked around the room. "Are they not here?"

"Not tonight," he said. "I did invite two other people, though."

"Did you?" Now Wu was giving him the eye.

"I did. So why don't you all sit down and I'll be right back." Wu's look intensified over that one but he let it go to herd the kids back over to the table.

"Napkin on your lap please, Zhi. Do you know what this is about?" he heard him ask Qi, but they didn't know either. He'd made sure of that. He quickly made his way to the lounge and found them; one very small elderly lady and one beautiful woman in her early forties, who helped the elderly lady up before smiling at him.

"And you, of course, must be Prince Consort Mako?" Oh, she was a knockout, no doubt about it; pale golden skin, black hair cut in a very stylish bob, deep brown eyes, tall and elegant. Polar opposite of Wu's mother, for sure. "My honor to meet you."

"Yes. Chaiyun? It's very good to meet you. Thank you so much for coming." He returned her bow.

"Anything for Prince Wu, of course. Anything at all." Her smile widened. "I haven't seen him in so many years, I hardly think he'll even recognize me."

"I think he might surprise you." He turned and bowed to the elderly lady. "Madame Yahui."

She nodded up at him slowly before speaking. "Well, now. Aren't you the pretty one, Prince Consort?" She took up her cane and damn near jabbed him with it. "I've come a long way, Your Highness. Take me to my Prince, please."

He exchanged a quick, amused look with Chaiyun before stooping down a bit to offer her his arm. She took it and shuffled along next to him.

"So he doesn't know we're coming?" Chaiyun was hovering to Madame Yahui's other side. "And the children are here as well?"

"The kids and Qi. And no, he doesn't have a clue. Hey!" He nearly tripped as the old woman rapped right next to his ankle with the cane.

"Those are the royal children you are speaking of, the princesses and the prince. They aren't kids." She nearly spat out the last word, looking like she might take him out. He always forgot how touchy Earth Kingdom people got over what they saw as his disrespectful casualness with Wu, never mind the kids.

"Auntie!" Chaiyun scolded gently, pursing up her mouth. "He's their father! And the Prince Consort!"

"Hmphm," grunted the old woman, and he reached for the door to the banquet room with his free hand, escorting them inside. They were all sitting down; Naoki was twirling one of her chopsticks and Qi was reaching over to take it from her with a frown.

"Ah there you..." Wu trailed off as he glanced at the two women; he immediately put on the polite smile he always got when he was going to meet someone new. The smile dropped off of his face as he stared at the elderly woman, however, his eyes getting bigger and bigger. "Nanny?" he breathed, and his hand crept up to his mouth. "My Nanny?"

"Just as quick and smart as you always were, Your Highness. Nanny's little Prince himself." The elderly lady's face creased up into a smile. 

"Oh, Nanny!" Wu cried, and there went the waterworks as he jumped out of his chair and practically ran around the table, straight for her. "Oh my Nanny!" He skidded to a stop before her, lips trembling.

"Now now, you cry just as much as you ever used to. Give your old Nanny a hug?" She thrust her cane at Mako and held her arms out, closing them around Wu as he went down to his knees, resting his head against her chest, sobbing. "There now, little Prince. Nanny's happy to see you, too." She sniffled loudly as she patted him gently.

"Oh Nanny, I never even got to say goodbye," he wailed. "I missed you so."

"Is Papa okay?" whispered Zhi, staring at Wu. "He's really crying."

"He's okay," Qi replied, meeting Mako's eyes across the room. "Your Daddy brought him someone he loved very much but hasn't seen since he was five."

Naoki slid off of her chair and came around the table, standing in front of the old woman. "Papa told me about you," she said, and then she bowed, very deeply. "He told me how much he loved you and how good you were to him. I'm Naoki, and it is my honor to meet you."

Wu pulled back, taking his handkerchief out of his pocket and mopping at his eyes, trying to regain his composure. "Oh yes, please excuse me. Nanny, this is my oldest, Naoki." He motioned to the other children, and they came around the table. "This is Yaozhi and my youngest here is Meili."

"Named for your mother, yes, My Prince. I read about it in the papers." She bowed rather stiffly, and he handed her her cane again.  "My honor, Your Royal Highnesses."

Meili stepped into her and wrapped her arms around her waist. "Hello, Papa's Nanny," she said, smiling, and the old woman sniffled again. "My honor to meet you."

"Well named, at that. Aren't you a lovely little Princess?"

"And I see that you've met Mako. And this is my consort, Qi." Wu gestured, and Qi came forward, bowing deeply.

"My honor, Royal Consort," Madame Yahui said, and bowed again, not before giving Qi a sharp look. Wu gazed at the other woman for a long moment before tilting his head appraisingly. She smiled at him; his eyes flashed.

"My gracious! It's Chaiyun!" His hand went to his chest. "Chaiyun!"

She laughed. "I was wondering if I might have to fold you a paper armadillo tiger before you recognized me, Your Highness." Wu took her hands in his.

"I can hardly even believe it! Chaiyun! Are you well?"

"I am very well indeed, Your Highness."

"Children, this is Lady Chaiyun! She was your grandfather's concubine and one of my very favorite people when I was very young." He was beaming at her.

"Concu...what?" Zhi frowned as he made his bow.

"A lady that-" Naoki started, but Qi firmly clamped a hand down on her elbow.

"We can talk about it later," they said, and gave her a look. They turned and bowed at Chaiyun. "My honor." They turned. "Zhi, can you pull out Madame Yahui's chair for her?"

"Yes, Qi!"

Qi gently dislodged Meili and gave her wink. "Go on and take a seat, Baby." They offered their arm to Madame Yahui and carefully escorted her to the table. Meili put her hand into Chaiyun's and smiled up at her. 

"You can sit next to me," she piped, and got a smile in return as she happily swung Chaiyun's hand in hers.

Wu's fingers entwined into his, tightening. "How?" he murmured, nose already red and puffy. "Mako, how?"

"Unlike my brother, I'm a real private detective. It was my first case." He looked down at him. He loved him, so much. Sometimes it overwhelmed him how much he loved this man. "Happy Anniversary. Maybe not flowers and Harmony Tower, but I hope you like it."

"I love it, just like I love you," Wu said, and sniffled. "You're a romantic fool, you know that?"

"I don't know about that," he said, but his heart felt like flying.

"I know," said Wu, and brought his knuckles up to his lips to kiss them.

 


	37. A Smashing Rehabilitation: A Day At The Gym

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes people care more than you think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I amused my betareader by outlining this as we were messaging each other; I figured I may as well write it out, then!

Wei stood still next to the car door, staring across the street at the gym. “This is...why are we here?”

Qi motioned over one of the lurking street kids, handing her some cash and jerking their chin at the car. The kid immediately took a fierce stance in front of it, eyeing a woman passing by with such a look that she scurried on. “You know me, I just do what I’m told. I was told to bring you here.”

He snorted at that one. “Since when have you ever done a damn thing you were told?”

Qi just shot him an amused wink. “Since about two weeks from never.” They tucked their arm into his. “Come on, hero. Try trusting me, why don’t you?”

“You sure you aren’t too busy with wedding stuff?” The second it came out of his mouth he regretted it. Qi just tightened their grip, though.

“Yeah, I deserved that.” They tugged him across the street. “I’m sorry. I know I haven’t been around enough.”

“Naw, I’m just being an asshole. I know it’s important to you.” He stopped them to meet their eyes. “Seriously. I of all people know.” That got him a flash of Qi’s gap-toothed grin.

“Yeah, well. It’ll be over soon. Which is a good thing, because if I have to listen to your aunt making any more cracks about it I might come for her in her sleep.”

“Good luck with that. You’re sneaky, but not that sneaky.”

“You’re probably right.”

The gym wasn’t one he usually frequented, although he knew Mako liked it. He’d always stuck to the gym at the pro-bending arena. Pro-benders only; fans weren’t allowed in. He liked the fans and all, but even he had to admit they were a distraction most of the time. This place was a mixed crowd, he knew, benders and non-benders training together. He fervently hoped no one was going to come up and ask for his autograph or anything, though. He wasn’t feeling up to it, not lately. It just made him feel worse than he already did. And he felt bad enough as it was.

He wasn’t sure if it was the general atmosphere or Qi’s glare, but they walked in unmolested, along the length of the gym, through a door he’d never noticed before. It led into a cavernous room that was obviously used for pro-bending practice; no deep tank, of course, but there was water placed around the room and piles of clay discs as well.

Mako was there, buckling arm vambraces onto Naoki, while Bolin, already dressed to go, was chatting up Sitiak, his long hair braided tightly up, helmet in his hand. They all glanced over as he and Qi entered, Bolin’s friendly smile immediately lighting up his face.

“Hey! There you are!”

“What’s going on?” he asked, giving Qi a look. Qi just gave one of their little one-shoulder shrugs that was so often their answer to things they thought didn’t need answering.

“If you’re going to get back into fighting shape then you need to be sparring.” Mako tested Naoki’s vambraces and nodded at her as she dropped into a crouch, stretching. “We’re just waiting on the other waterbender.”

“But...Sitiak…” he glanced at him. Fuck but he looked good in a uniform, even if it was more than a bit worse for the wear, probably one of the ones the gym made available. He tore his eyes away before he got clocked for staring.

“I’ve never played professionally, but I’m aware of the rules,” he said, in that deep rumble of his. “I can balance off Naoki.” He smiled down at her.

“Yeah, that’s us, just amateurs.” She gave him a thumbs up.

“I don’t have my gear,” he said, but Qi huffed a little laugh and pointed. There it was, laid out neatly on a bench, waiting for him. “You broke in and took it, didn’t you?”

“Ask me no questions, I’ll tell you no lies,” they said, looking smug. “And I have a key, remember? Not that I’d need it. Go on now, get dressed. I’m here to ref.”

He was settling the chest piece on when he heard a sly drawl from the door.

“Oh, we are quite a little group, aren’t we?”

“Really?” Mako looked like he was going to kick Bolin in his ass. Bolin just shrugged.

“What? He’s a good waterbender, and he said he was up for it.”

Mako pinched the bridge of his nose before acknowledging him. “Tahno.”

“Mako,” he replied, mirroring his disgusted tone. “Where’s the other firebender?”

“I’m the other firebender,” Naoki said, cool as usual. Nothing riled that girl up when it came to her bending.

Tahno sneered at that one. “Is that your kid, Mako? The one everyone always talks about?” He gave her an up and down. “What are you, eight?”

“Twelve.”

“Yeah, I’m not doing this with a kid.”

Bolin started to say something, but Naoki cut him off. “Oh, I understand. No one wants to get their ass demolished by a kid.”

Tahno raised a very slow eyebrow. “Uh huh. Well, I tell you what, kid. We’ll do a little one on one, see how it plays out. Don’t worry, though. I’ll take it easy on you.”

Her smile in return was sweet, and he had to fight down a laugh. Naoki only looked sweet when she was getting ready to cream someone. “I’ll take it easy on you too, then.”

“Couldn’t happen to a better asshole,” Mako muttered, and crossed his arms, watching Naoki. “That fucking Tahno.”

Tahno got himself into the gear he’d brought, stretching a bit before taking a stance. Naoki stood, waiting patiently, until Qi stood in the middle of the two of them, fans in hand.

“Regulation rules. I’ll give you the fan if I need to, but I’d better not need to.” They stepped back and triggered the beat to shit timer the gym provided, and as it flashed green and sounded the buzzer, Sitiak sat down next to him.

“This should be good.” He had some intricate white and blue beads woven into his braids. He thought about what it would feel like to take his hair down, loosen it and slide the beads out, one by one, a kiss for each, and desire swelled up, making him catch his breath a little. _Get ahold of yourself, Beifong!_ He swallowed and turned his attention back to Naoki, not so worked up that he couldn’t enjoy her taking down Tahno in no short order. Every single shot he sent her way she turned into steam; she just stood there, not going anywhere, just steaming away. Water, ice, even sleet; Qi immediately fanned him for using solids but it didn’t matter. She never threw a single shot of flame. At one point she yawned and covered her mouth, before returning her focus; Tahno scoffed then, seemingly amused, and signaled a time out.

“All right, kid. You’re a prodigy, we all get it.” He gave her a little bow with a smarmy flourish and she returned it in force, which got a chuckle out of him. “Mako, your kid’s a better firebender than you are.”

“Her name’s Naoki, and I know it,” Mako replied, just stating a fact. Some men might feel threatened that their twelve year old was better than they were, but Mako never had been that man. He was damn proud of her. As he should be.

“Well, I’m on her team,” Tahno said and actually grinned before slinging his arm around her shoulders. “Which earthbender are we taking, hey Naoki?”

“We’ll take Uncle Wei,” she said, and he got the full wattage of her smile. “Come on, Uncle Wei.”

They all lined up, ready. The clay discs were practice ones; a little off balance, not the best quality, but the waterbenders had to pull some pretty scummy water from the sides so he figured it all worked out in the end. Qi, dressed in protective gear, fans at the ready, hit the buzzer and stepped back as Mako’s team attacked first.

It was good to be working with a team again. They weren’t like Apirlaat or Setsu, of course; Tahno was far more fluid than Apirlaat and Naoki didn’t have Set’s sheer bloody aggressiveness. Mako and Bolin worked as well together as they always had and while it was obvious that Sitiak was no pro-bender he was powerful and direct, with excellent control over his element. He’d expected no less from him; the man was Kya’s student and despite his relatively short time in Republic City already had a reputation for being one of the best healers around.

Naoki had just set one of Bolin’s clay discs alight and had sent it wheeling back - Qi had called a timeout and had demanded what she thought she was doing, and to their disapproval and Tahno’s rising amusement she’d explained that she had asked Zhi to go through the rules and he’d told her that it wasn’t precisely illegal - and he was going to grab a drink of water when he saw Apirlaat and Setsu by the door. He immediately went for them; Apirlaat’s strong embrace and Set’s fond thumping against his helmet nearly put him into tears.

“Qi let us know,” Set told him, giving Qi a friendly leer. She’d always had a thing for Qi, although they’d never returned it. “You’re a little slow out there, Beifong.”

“Hey, not necessary!”

“We’ve missed you so much,” Apirlaat said, her arm still around him. “How are things?”

“Ah, you know, everything’s fine.”

She shook her head. “No, we’re not doing that. How are you really?”

“I’m trying,” he said quietly, and her grip tightened.

“I’ve invited you four times for dinner and you keep turning me down. We want you, Wei. Tomorrow night. No more excuses. No more avoiding us.” She smiled at him. She was a good woman, Apirlaat. He knew she hoped to coach someday, and he knew she’d be one of the best. “No alcohol, either, so no worries.”

“Yeah, I think our party days are behind us, hmmm?” Set thumped him again. “I don’t have to go to a club with you for a good time, you know. After all, my gorgeous company is more than enough.”

Qi snorted at that, materializing out of nowhere the way Qi usually did. “You just keep telling yourself that.”

“Oh well, if it isn’t the royal spouse-to-be.” Set looked like she was going to do or say something outrageous - always a possibility with her - but Naoki came up.

“Hi, Set!”

“Hey there, Firecracker!” She thumped Naoki’s helmet, far more gently than she’d done his. “You kicking some ass and taking some names?”

“Always do,” Naoki said, and that got her a grin.

“This is a good time for a break. LoLo sent us with a basket of lunch,” Mako said, yanking off his helmet. “Would the two of you like to join us?”

“I never miss a lunch from LoLo,” Set said, and Apirlaat smiled her agreement.

They sat there, on the floor of the gym, digging into the lunch, Tahno trying to give Bolin shit about some game from back in the day, Set encouraging Naoki to put out the spurt of flame she was bending without moving her hands or feet, Apirlaat sitting next to him, occasionally patting his arm. He hadn’t wanted to burden her, she had so much going on, what with the team and her husband and little girl. He’d missed her, though, and Set as well.

He knew they all cared about him. Well, maybe not Tahno; he hardly knew the man, truth be told. But he’d taken the time to show up today and had played hard, and he was grateful for it. There was Mako, who was willing to let the past be the past; Bolin who had always stuck by him, and Qi, the only person who’d ever come close to what he shared with Wing. Qi loved him, he knew, flaws and all. He wasn’t sure about Sitiak, but when he glanced over caught him staring at him, a frank, assessing look. He was sure the guy thought he was a total fuck up; he was a total fuck up, so who could blame him? He was glad he’d come today, though. Whatever the reason was. He cleared his throat.

“So uh...thanks, everyone. For coming today. I uh...I really appreciate it.”

“Someday earthbenders might learn how to give a speech. Today’s not that day, apparently.” Tahno smirked, and ignored Bolin’s irritated look.

“I’ve reserved the spot for next week, same time.” Mako handed Naoki a napkin. “If you are all up to it.”

“You think Apirlaat and I might get into some of this action?” Set winked at Naoki. “As alternates, you know.”

“Sure,” Mako said, starting to gather up the leftover boxes. “You can step in for me for a bit if you want.”

“I’d be happy to observe for a time. I’m afraid my pro-bending skills are lacking.” Sitiak nodded at Apirlaat, who returned it. He wasn’t sure if they knew each other. They were both from the North Pole but that didn’t mean much. It was a big place. And from what he understood, Sitiak’s family was pretty high echelon; according to his aunt they hadn’t approved of him leaving to go down south, either. He wondered how they felt about him training with Kya, a Southern Water Tribeswoman. He knew there were some fairly hefty issues between the Water Tribes, not that he had ever really paid that much attention. Apirlaat’s folks, on the other hand, fished for a living, a fairly standard occupation at both poles. They were proud of her success down here, he knew.

“I don’t know, you think you can manage another round? I don’t want to tire out anybody too old,” Naoki said to Tahno, throwing out that cheek he’d always loved. She was a sassbender, no doubt about it, probably picked up most of it from LoLo, a master level sassbender himself. Mako’s mouth twitched as he glanced at her. He knew the man thought the sun rose and set on his girl. She was a great kid, no doubt about it.

“This kid of yours is pretty mouthy, Mako.” Tahno heaved himself up off the floor. “Let’s see you walk the walk then, kid.” He shot a quick burst of water at her, which immediately steamed into nothingness.

“Keep trying, old man,” Naoki said, flicking up an eyebrow just like Qi, and he had to laugh at that one. She winked at him, and for the first time in he wasn’t sure how long, he felt at peace with the world.


	38. A Feline Accord: Wei Gets a Kitten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some gifts are from the heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By popular Tumblr request. I hope it satisfies!

He'd just managed the third row without dropping a stitch when his doorbell rang. Putting the knitting to the side - carefully, so as not to slide any of it off the needles, he'd already done that more than once and it was a serious pain in the ass to put it all back together again - he got up and walked over. He hadn't called for take out or anything, so unless it was one of his neighbors he had no idea who'd be showing up at his door at ten in the morning. He put on his best polite expression and reached for the handle.

It was a good thing he'd put the knitting down, because there, standing outside his door, was Sitiak. In the flesh. In the very large and very appealing flesh. He had a sizeable box resting on one hip and a smaller one in the other hand and wonder of wonders, he was smiling. Wei's libido checked to see if he was paying attention and he was, he really was.

"Uh...hey."

"Hello. I apologize for intruding without calling first. Your sister gave me your address."

"My...sister?"

The man's smile got even bigger. "You remember her? Airbender? Works on the Island with me? Looks a lot like you?"

"Uh...sure. Sure. Opal. My sister. Yeah." _Fuck._ He sounded like a fool. More than usual, which was not encouraging.

"May I come in?"

"Fuck! Uh! Yeah, sure!"

Now he looked like he was trying not to laugh. "It helps if you move first."

"Right!" _Fuck. Fuck. Fuck._ He jumped aside like someone had goosed him. "Come on in, my ass is your house." _Wait, what?_ "House! My house is your house!" That's it, he was just going to throw himself off the balcony and save himself any more humiliation. The very handsome man who apparently was his guest walked into the entryway. A guest. Tea. He needed to offer tea. For his guest. His guest who had his hair braided back, a tattoo swirling and looping around his bicep. Oh, it was a big bicep. So very, very big. 

"Would you mind taking these for me?" Sitiak was holding out the boxes. "I should take my boots off."

"Uh huh." He blinked. _Take the boxes, Beifong, and put your fucking tongue back in your head._ He reached out.

"Careful with the smaller one, it's fragile." 

"Okay." He put that one down as carefully as possible on his kitchen counter. "You don't need to take off your boots, it's fine."

Another smile. "We don't in the North Pole, you know. Too cold. I've had to get used to it down here. If I were smart I'd wear shoes that were easier to take off." He leaned down to unlace the tops of them.

He was pretty sure he'd never heard the man say this many words together in the few years he'd known him. Since when did Sitiak make small talk? "We wear boots in Zaofu, for the most part." Why was he talking about boots? Who gave a shit? Fuck, he was a disaster.

"Do you have metal soles on the bottom? I've always wondered." Off went the first boot. He caught himself staring at his foot.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Metalbender. You know. Beifong thing. Well, not Opal obviously." _Shut the fuck up Beifong._ He backed himself into the kitchen, ramming his ass painfully on the edge of the counter, grunting involuntarily. "Can I make you some tea or something?"

"Some tea would be lovely, thank you." The second boot came off and was placed neatly next to the other. Sitiak wandered into the living room, gazing about politely. His mother had had the place decorated when he'd moved in - mostly in greens, no big surprise there - but over the years he'd added a few things that were his. A framed Zaofu Zorillas poster, an embroidered Beifong flying boar Qi had made for him, things like that. Sitiak was immediately drawn to the painting that hung in a place of honor on the wall across from his balcony. He glanced back through the opening to the kitchen. "Did your brother do this?"

"Yeah." He measured out the tea leaves. "Huan."

"It's breathtaking. He's gifted."

He smiled, always glad to hear someone complimenting any of his siblings. "He really is." He put the kettle on and watched as Sitiak bent down to inspect his knitting. "Opal's been teaching me." At his look he shrugged. "I'm not very good, but it's keeping me occupied."

"Are you making a sock? If so, you'd have an easier time with a curved needle."

"You know how to knit?" He damn near dropped the cup he was holding.

"Mmmm. Helps build fine motor control, many healers take it up, or something similar." Another smile. "I've been teaching your sister how to do a herringbone stitch." He sat down on the sofa. "My own sister's in town."

"You have a sister?"

That actually got him a laugh. "I do. A twin sister, even, you aren't the only one with a twin. She came with her wife and their two little boys to see me." The smile got a little sad. "I haven't been home in several years now. My parents would have preferred that I not make healing my profession. We're estranged."

"Yeah, I think I heard something about that." He took the kettle off and poured the water over the leaves. "Is healing really considered a low-brow profession? That surprises me."

"Well, it depends on the family." The smile flattened into a grimace. "The Northern Water Tribe likes to present itself as enlightened, but it still has some lingering and antiquated ideas of who should be doing which professions. Especially among the oldest families. My sister is also a healer and that was considered more than acceptable." He shrugged. "I'm sorry for the estrangement, but not enough to stop healing."

"Shouldn't you be visiting with your sister instead of being over here, then?" _Smooth._ "I just mean, you can see me any time." 

"All true. However, I've been writing to her about you and-"

"You wrote your sister about me?" He clutched at the tea tray.

"I did. I had something in mind, you see." He glanced down at the discarded clump of yarn and smiled again. "Something that might appeal a little more than knitting." He patted at it. "Besides, they just arrived last night. I went by the hotel first thing this morning but the boys were still asleep. I'll go and visit this afternoon, they're staying at the Four Elements." He stood. "I asked her to bring a gift for you."

"For me?"

"For you." He nodded at the smaller box. "It's in there." 

"A gift?"

"Yes, Wei. A gift. From me. Which my sister brought with her from the North Pole." He walked towards the kitchen. 

"But...why?"

Sitiak looked at him for a long time. "Because I know what it is to lose yourself into the drinking like that. And how hard it is to pull yourself back out again."

"You...you do?" He stared at him. Sitiak? The man always seemed to have everything together. He couldn't wrap his brain around it.

He nodded gravely. "I do. And we can talk about it sometime, if you'd like. But for today, I think you should open up your gift." He tapped a finger gently on the box and a sound escaped it. "Before your gift opens herself."

He reached over and, his fingers trembling slightly, opened the box, peering inside. Something very white and very fluffy moved, flashing pink as sharp teeth were exposed in a yawn. Vivid blue eyes blinked open and stared up at him.

"Mew."

He stared down, his mouth dropping open. "I..."

The fluff moved again and resolved itself into a very small cat, a single paw sliding up the box. "Mew."

"It's...a cat?"

"A kitten. She's a purebred North Pole Snowball kitten." Sitiak rumbled a laugh. "My auntie breeds them." He reached down and rubbed a finger against her chin; the kitten responded by releasing a sound that sounded like the motor of Qi's car. How anything so tiny could make a noise that loud he had no idea.

"I don't understand."

Sitiak reached into the box and carefully pulled her out with one hand, reaching with the other to grab his. "Here. Meet her." He slid her carefully into his hand, and he quickly brought his other hand up to help support her. "She'll need a name."

"She needs a name?"

"Well, there's no law, but I've always thought it's a little unimaginative to call a cat Cat, all things considered." He put a hand to his shoulder. "She's yours. Think it over."

The kitten continued her purring, shifting in his hands to daintily lick a paw, rubbing it across her face. He was completely entranced. "She's like a little flower." He realized he was grinning. "My brother has four of them, you know. I guess she's mine."

"Give her a flower name, then."

He raised his hands slowly, peering at her, bringing her close to his face. She reached out an imperious paw, her toe pads a delicate pink, to bop him on the nose. "Hey!"

"Mew!"

"Sassy," he said, and rubbed a finger along her chin, like Sitiak had done. The purring got even louder. "Well, Orchid, Iris, Rose and Poppy are right out. Although none of them are white though, are they?"

"True." Sitiak leaned against the counter, gazing at her. "If we're talking flowers then she looks like a white cherry blossom."

"She does, doesn't she?"

"Mmmmm."

"Blossom. What do you think of that name, hmm?" He gently returned her bop, and she sneezed. "Well, then!"

"Blossom's a nice name." Sitiak's finger joined his to stroke her head. "I think it suits her." He tipped his head. "The other box has things that she'll need. A sand box, some food, that sort of thing to get you started."

"I don't know anything about cats!"

"Well, no time like the present to learn, then." 

"Seriously, you have to tell me what to do. I don't..." He met his eyes. "I can't fuck this up."

Sitiak smiled again. Spirits, but the man had a nice smile. How had he ever thought he was aloof? Both Qi and his sister had told him the man was friendly, just a little formal and reserved, like many Northern Water Tribe people. Like Apirlaat had been before he'd really gotten to know her. "Of course I'll help you. I wouldn't just leave her here without showing you what you need to do for her. Here." He opened up the larger box, digging around. "Siqiniq says she likes the toy with the feathers...ah, she must mean this one." He pulled out a leather-wrapped stick, with long leather strings and feathers tied to it. The kitten immediately lunged for it, her eyes widening. "Ah ah ah, Blossom, let's put you on the floor first." He gave the toy to Wei. "Sit down with her, I'll bring the tea."

"Oh yeah, sorry! I forgot the tea!"

"I've got it," Sitiak said, and gave his shoulder another reassuring squeeze. "Leave it to me."


	39. An Unforeseen Examination: Joining Master Yumi's Dojo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yumi gets a new student at her dojo.
> 
> Written for the Different POV Challenge on Tumblr. Prompt by scarlettfire!

"The dressing room is that way," the Master said, gesturing with her thumb. She was younger than he had expected; he'd assumed, based on what he'd heard, that she'd be in late middle-age or older. He'd put her around forty, though, lean and hard with muscle, an old scar slashing thinly across her right cheekbone. "There are empty lockers, toilets, showers. I'm not a maid, so I expect you to clean up after yourself. If you don't, you'll be out on your ass, are we clear?" At his nod she continued. "If we come to a mutual agreement then you can claim a permanent locker." The Master was tall enough that she was able to lock eyes with him, and he was not a short man. "That's not a guarantee, by the way. I don't take on most people who come here, for one thing. For another, the way I teach doesn't suit everyone, so if it doesn't work out for either of us I can make a few recommendations for other local dojos that might suit your style better." She kept eye contact for several long seconds before giving a single, brisk nod. "Alright, let's see what you've got." She called across the large room, her voice carrying easily. "Naoki! I need you!"

The girl who had been stretching in the far corner immediately stood and jogged over. She was young; her cheeks still rounded and her schoolgirl plaits twisted around her head and pinned in place. She wore a simple gray gi, tied in place with a red sash. At her age? Jiahao frowned. He disapproved of giving children progressive sashes. In his experience they were merely a concession so their parents wouldn't think they'd wasted their money on training. She bowed gravely at him and despite his skepticism he gave her a proper bow in return. 

"Naoki, this is Jiahao. He's just come to Republic City and is looking to continue his training." She turned back to him. "Naoki is one of my best students." The girl didn't respond to this; merely kept her stance, back straight, arms locked behind her back. "She's a firebender, but this is a strictly no bending space. I expect my bending students to leave it at the door, so no worries that they'd have an advantage over you that way. She's trained in all the basics, including war fans and the katana. I'll give you twenty minutes to get changed and warm up a bit and then we'll see what you've got." She nodded at the girl and walked away, stopping to speak to a severe-looking woman about his age, hair clipped short, wearing loose black trousers and tunic, fans in her hands. She wasn't wearing a sash. Jiahao paused for just a moment, mind racing. The Master seriously meant for him to spar with this child? He'd been told hers was the best dojo in town but he was beginning to think someone was yanking his chain. Fine. He'd do it, but he hoped the Master wouldn't be angry with him for wiping the floor with a little girl. 

Once he'd changed she set the two of them through their paces, calling out certain moves, watching him closely, occasionally nodding slowly to herself; at one point she met the severe woman's eyes and got a raised eyebrow in return. He had to admit that the girl knew her forms; she moved with a barely restrained and powerful grace that surprised him. Finally satisfied, the Master waved the two of them into the sparring circle.  "Let's start off with the basics. First one off the mat loses the match." He nodded and she looked at the girl. "Stick to form but don't pull back, okay?" The girl bowed and put herself into a ready position. He noticed a half-grin on the severe woman's mouth but had no time to consider it before the Master stepped back, telling them to begin.

To his dismay, the little girl kept him hopping. She was controlled and dynamic, all at once; he realized about two minutes in that she was observing him and testing out his weaknesses. Even knowing what she was doing wasn't helping him get the better of her, however. She was quick and incredibly light on her feet. At one point he slipped a little on the mat but she chose not to take advantage, waiting for him to regain his balance before sending a swift and hard kick to his left shoulder. He'd assumed that he'd have to take it easy on her but he was working hard just to keep slightly ahead. In the end it was all for naught; she edged him off the mat and immediately stopped and bowed, waiting for her Master to tell her what to do next. She was hardly even winded and he choked back a curse as he bowed in return.

"That'll do," the Master said, her arms crossed. "Let's see what you can do free-form. No rules except no lethal strikes, first one off the mat loses." She nodded at the girl. "Do your thing. Make him work. Try not to break anything though, please. He's not enrolled yet."

The severe woman chuckled, a low husky thing. "Take him out, Butterfly."

A flash of a grin from the girl; it lit her unusual gold eyes with glee before she sobered back down and bowed at him, correct and disciplined again. The Master told them to begin and before he could even move the girl virtually exploded off of the mat, launching herself into the air without even needing to run for momentum. He recoiled in surprise; she changed position mid-air and swung a leg to slam into the back of his left thigh, unbalancing him as he grunted. He flung himself about to strike back but she was already gone, spinning in a circle to deliver a hard strike to his kidney and he sucked air through his teeth at the sudden, sharp pain of it. 

No matter what he did, he couldn't keep up with her. He'd been reluctant to actually hit her - no matter what the Master said, she was still a little girl, and he could only imagine what his old master would have said at the very idea that he would strike a child. He was pretty sure that his old master had never met a child like this one, though. If she had been disciplined and relentless when following the forms she was ruthless and deadly when fighting free-form, targeting the weak spots she'd already sussed out in their first match and taking full advantage of them. What kind of girl was she, that she could do this? He had no time to think about it, though, because she did a flying scissor kick, wrapping her legs around his neck and twisting him to the ground like he was nothing more than a fragile flower. He hit the mat and she spun herself away before dropping back down into a waiting stance.

He looked up and over to see the severe woman and the Master grinning at him. With a rueful grin in return he leaned over and slapped his hand outside of the mat. "What in the name of the great lionturtle was that?"

The girl bowed towards him, her face alight. "Korra taught me how to do that."

He blinked as his mind registered what she said. "Avatar Korra?"

The girl nodded. "Uh huh. She trains here when she's in town. She showed me how to do it when I was just a little kid."

The severe woman held down a hand and he gripped it as she pulled him up. "Don't feel too bad. She does this to everyone. You ought to see her bend." 

He bowed respectfully to the girl. She had bested him; he suspected she probably bested most of the people thrown at her. "Are you that good with the katana and fans?"

"I do okay with the katana but I'm not that great with the fans." The girl shoved a loose hairpin back into her braids. "Qi's the best at the fans."

The severe woman dropped her a wink before turning back to him. "Qi Beifong," she said, and bowed.

He bowed in return. Beifong? Like those Beifongs? "You're an earthbender?"

She shook her head. "Adopted."

"But soon to be a Hou-Ting," said the girl, throwing her arms around her waist, smiling up at her. The woman's face gentled as she smiled back down, tweaking the girl's nose affectionately.

He took in this new information and kept his mouth from dropping open just in time. "You...you're her, aren't you? The princess they call the Fire Butterfly?" 

The Master tousled the top of the girl's braids. "That's her."

"I thought you were older!"

The girl leaned towards him and dropped a sly wink. "They all think that."

The Master cleared both her throat and her face, crossing her arms as she addressed the girl. "Weaknesses?"

The girl stepped away from the woman and took that ready stance again. "He rolls a little on his left foot before he's going to strike with it. He either needs to get rid of it or use it purposefully to fool his opponents. His knees are too tight, and that slows him down a little. It takes too long for him to come out of a roll, he's vulnerable then. His arms are stronger than his legs in general. Based on the calluses on his hands I'd guess too much sword training and not enough basic drills. He also needs to loosen up his shoulders to regain more flexibility, it's hampering his reach." She cocked her head and focused on him. "Oh yeah, and he takes a little breath in, like this -" she sniffed in with her nose "- when he's preparing to move across the mat. It takes away the element of surprise as well."

The Master nodded. "Very good. Anything else?"

The girl's brows drew down. "He was pulling back on me at first but stopped when he realized I was going to cream his ass." She grinned at him and he surprised himself by laughing and bowing at her again.

The Master's mouth curved up. "Qi?"

The severe woman gazed at him. "You think too much. You've also got a bit of a hesitation on the left in general, not just with the foot. Protecting an old injury, maybe?"

He nodded. "Broke some ribs last year on that side. Car accident, not a training injury."

The Master frowned. "Are they healed completely?" She brushed off her own comment with a sharp gesture. "I'll have Kya - she's a Healer - take a look. If they are and it's in the mind, we can work on that. If they aren't healed then we'll need to accommodate training until they are."

"But you were really good," the girl assured him. "I mean, not good enough to beat me, but it was a good fight."

The severe woman snorted at this and rolled her eyes over the girl's head. "Okay, you. If Yumi's done with you for the afternoon we need to scoot." At the Master's nod she pointed the girl towards the dressing room. "Into the shower and get dressed. You've got homework and I promised LoLo we'd stop by the market on the way home and pick him up some fresh mushrooms." She started to walk behind her but turned back to the Master. "He's making fish for dinner tonight. You coming?"

The Master thought for a moment. "Yeah, sure. I'll finish up here and be along."

"I'll tell them to set a place for you, then." The severe woman raised a hand in a languid wave and walked into the dressing room. The Master turned back to him.

"Naoki's the best test I've got. Not just in terms of being good at what she does, although obviously she's damn good. But to see how potential students react to her. I've got no use for anyone who will dismiss an opponent for any reason, be it age or gender or appearance. I expect my students to work their asses off and to treat their fellow students with respect. I could see you dismissed her at first but even still, you approached her with serious intent and respect. That's exactly what I want to see."

He put his hands to the top of his head and let out a gust of air. "I wasn't expecting her, I can tell you that much."

The Master chuckled. "No one ever is, believe me. So." She put her hands to her hips. "What do you think? This might be the place for you?"

"You'd be willing to take me?" He tried to keep the hope that was flaring up within from showing on his face.

"I would. First things first, I'd get my friend the healer to come and take a look at you. Depending on what she said, we'd get started. You've got some bad habits we'd need to break, and Naoki's right. Your basic training's been neglected for the katana. That won't fly here. I'm assuming you've not worked with fans?" At the quick shake of his head, she took in a breath, letting it out with a faint hum. "If you choose to stay I'll teach you, but we'd hold off on it a bit. You've got to work on your speed first." A grin. "Yeah, you've got some work ahead, and I'll work your ass, believe me." She tilted her head towards the dressing room. "Locker's yours, if you want it."

"Thank you, Master." He put his hands together and bowed, deeply. "May I ask a question?" At her nod he continued. "That Qi Beifong? Is she a student as well?"

"First off, Qi's not a she. Or a he. Not what you're used to, but that's how Qi is. You can just use Qi's name or _they_ works as well." She raised a hand to cut him off. "Don't worry about it, you didn't know and Qi gets that. Just know it going forward." He had questions about it, but could sense that the Master wasn't going to answer them, so he just nodded his understanding. "Qi's not a regular student, no. Qi trains here, but Qi's focus is with knives and the fans." At his look of incomprehension, she chuckled. "Qi's a bodyguard. Could have made a damned fine assassin, for that matter. I think we're all glad that it's not Qi's focus." She leaned a little closer. "Let me make something clear. Qi's a damn good friend, one of my favorite people in the world, in fact. But unlike Naoki, who is a bonafide princess and has been raised with honor, if Qi thought you were going to harm their family they'd stab you in the back and you'd never see it coming. You'd be dead before you even knew to be afraid." Her gaze was direct. "Just something to keep in mind. Best not to tease a tigerdillo, you got me?"

He nodded and she clapped him on the back. "Anyhow, give it a few days. Think it over. Maybe even try a few other dojos, see if they hold more appeal. I'd be glad to take you on but the choice needs to be yours. You decide that this is the place and I'm the master for you then come on back. But regardless, I'll call my healer friend to take a look at you. You should be checked over thoroughly no matter where you decide to train, and she's the best around."

He'd already decided to train there, of course. He didn't want to seem too eager, though, so he merely bowed again before making his way to the dressing room. He'd never been told he was too slow before. He smiled as he pushed the door open.


	40. An Explanatory Brochure: A Day At Republic City's National History Museum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first page of the brochure for Republic City's National History Museum's special exhibit, The Hou-Ting Children.

Welcome to the Hou-Ting wing of the National History Museum of Republic City. This wing was built in 200 AG through a generous donation from the Hou-Ting family, and continues to be funded by a annual arts grant from the Hou-Ting Foundation.

This season's Special Exhibition, _The Hou-Ting Children_ , is a collection of memorabilia on generous loan from the Hou-Ting family, Republic City University and the Royal Family of the Fire Nation.

More information about the history of the family can be found at the end of the brochure.

 

1\. **The Coronation Robe of Hou-Ting LIV (on loan from the Hou-Ting family)**

This robe, made of yellow silk, was designed in 175 AG by The House of Wong, a very popular design house in Ba Sing Se at the time. It was made to commemorate the coronation of Hou-Ting LIV, the last monarch of the Earth Kingdom. Hou-Ting LIV - or, as he was more commonly known, Prince Wu - abdicated his throne a year later, leading to the dissolution of the Earth Kingdom.

The robe has been extensively hand embroidered with various flora and fauna of the former Earth Kingdom. Of special note is the right cuff, which has been embroidered with a stylized fire ferret surrounded by flames, at odds with the more naturalistic renderings on the rest of the robe. It is believed that this was in honor of Hou-Ting's Prince Consort, Mako Hou-Ting, who at one time had played on the Fire Ferrets pro-bending team.

 

2\. **A Portrait of Meili Hou-Ting by Huan Beifong (on loan from the Hou-Ting family)**

This work was completed in 175 AG and depicts the mother of Hou-Ting LIV in court dress sitting in a stylized field of flowers. The original work, painted in 155 AG, was lost in the fall of Ba Sing Se in 171 AG; however, Beifong painted this replacement portrait in Zaofu for Hou-Ting LIV as a gift. 

The portrait is atypical of Beifong at that time; he used smaller brushstrokes and muted colors, embracing a more realistic style than the more expressionistic style he customarily painted in during the earlier part of his career.

 

3\. **A Portrait of the Hou-Ting Children by Huan Beifong (on loan from the Hou-Ting family)**

This work was completed in 192 AG and depicts the children of Hou-Ting LIV. From left to right is Yaozhi, age fourteen, Meili, age eleven, Sayuri, age four, and Naoki, age eighteen. The children have been painted in a formal style in the living room of the Hou-Ting mansion, located in Republic City.

Beifong's maturing style can be seen here. The colors are bolder and the details clearly defined and executed; the blue of Meili Hou-Ting's eyes, for example, as well as the intricate butterfly pattern of Naoki Hou-Ting's dress and the sunlight reflecting off of Sayuri Hou-Ting's curls.

 

4\. **Naoki Hou-Ting's katana (on loan from the Hou-Ting family)**

Naoki Hou-Ting, a Master Firebender, was also trained in the arts of the Kyoshi Warriors as a girl by Yumi, a retired Kyoshi Warrior. This katana was presented to her as a gift on her eighteenth birthday by Kya, the daughter of Avatar Aang. The katana had been owned by Kya's aunt by marriage, Suki, a Kyoshi Warrior who fought with Avatar Aang and Firelord Zuko. 

The katana itself was forged in approximately 95 AG on Kyoshi Island. 

 

5\. **Yaozhi Hou-Ting's notes and photographs of the Qi Arachnid (on loan from the Hou-Ting Family)**

Yaozhi Hou-Ting discovered, classified and named the Qi arachnid in 207 AG while exploring in the Si Wong desert. This spider is the only known arachnid which can change gender depending on atmospheric as well as environmental conditions.  The spider is a very rare species and can only be found within a hundred kilometer radius. Republic City Zoo's Hou-Ting Invertebrate Center currently has an exhibition of this exquisite arachnid.

 

6\. **Photographs of Meili Hou-Ting Healing (on loan from the Hou-Ting Family)**

These photographs were taken of Meili Hou-Ting between the years of 221 and 224 AG, while she was working at The Bridge Clinic. The Bridge Clinic, Republic City's first free healing clinic, was founded in 202 AG by Meili Hou-Ting, Rohan, a Master Airbender and the grandson of Avatar Aang, and Natsiq, a Waterbender Healer who was orphaned at a young age and resided on the streets of Republic City before being sent to train in the Southern Water Tribe by Prince Wu Hou-Ting, Meili Hou-Ting's father. Both Rohan and Natsiq can be seen in several of the photographs as well.

The Bridge Clinic continues its work today, financed by the estate of Lin Beifong, one-time police chief of Republic City and a very close friend of the Hou-Ting family.

 

7\. **Sayuri Hou-Ting's early prototype of the Analytical Engine (on loan from Republic City University)**

This is one of Sayuri Hou-Ting's earliest prototypes of her Analytical Engine, the precursor to our modern computational machines. Sayuri is credited with the invention of this machine after she spent 211 AG on sabbatical from Republic City University at the Northern Air Temple, apprenticing with Baatar Beifong, Junior. 

 

8\. **A photograph of the Hou-Ting Children with family and friends (on loan from the private collection of the royal family of the Fire Nation)**

This photograph was taken in 196 AG by an unknown photographer. The setting is in the backyard of the Hou-Ting family mansion, on the occasion of Sayuri Hou-Ting's eighth birthday.

In the back row, from left to right: Naoki Hou-Ting, Rose Beifong, Poppy Beifong, Norbu Beifong and Meili Hou-Ting

In the middle row, from left to right: Prince Sozui of the Fire Nation, Orchid Beifong, Iris Beifong, Yaozhi Hou-Ting and San Beifong

In the front row, from left to right: Pearl Beifong, Rohan (grandson to Avatar Aang), Sayuri Hou-Ting, Katara Beifong and Goba (a young airbender from the Northern Air Temple)

 

9\. **Pabu (on loan from the Hou-Ting Family)**

This plush fire ferret was named for Pabu, the fire ferret owned by Bolin Beifong, uncle to the Hou-Ting children. It was given as a gift to Prince Wu Hou-Ting in 174 AG. All four of the Hou-Ting children slept with the doll during their childhood. The doll was carefully repaired and restored at some point by persons unknown.

 

10\. **Family Jewelry by Huan Beifong (on loan from the Hou-Ting Family)**

These individual pieces were crafted by Huan Beifong and show his usual delicacy and dedication to form. The butterfly, done in silver with rubies, belonged to Naoki Hou-Ting. The spider wasp, done in silver with jet eyes, belonged to Yaozhi Hou-Ting. The silver koi with the sapphire eyes belonged to Meili Hou-Ting. The lily flower, done in silver with emeralds, belonged to Sayuri Hou-Ting.

 

**11\. The Annual Hou-Ting Photograph (on loan from the Hou-Ting Family)**

This photograph was taken in 192 AG by Tuherrus, a very popular photographer in Republic City at the time. Every year for his birthday, Hou-Ting LIV - or Prince Wu, as he was commonly known after his abdication - had a formal photograph taken of his family in order to gift a copy to family and very close friends.

In the back row, from left to right: The Royal Consort the Honorable Qi Beifong Hou-Ting, Prince Consort Mako Hou-Ting, Hou-Ting LIV and Princess Naoki Hou-Ting.

In the front row, from left to right: Lozan of the Fire Nation, Princess Meili Hou-Ting, Lady Lin Beifong, Princess Sayuri Hou-Ting, and Prince Yaozhi Hou-Ting.

A note, handwritten on the back of the photo, states:  _Meili’s dress and beaded headband were sent as a gift from Tonraq and Senna._ (The note refers to Chief Tonraq of the Southern Water Tribe and his wife Senna.)

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The photo is a fanart commission by [tuherrus](https://tmblr.co/mpzo2ai-DhMQgPd6zCYvONQ) and is perfection in every way.


End file.
